Great Expectations… July 20, 2015 – Posted in: Confidence, Relationships – Tags: coaching, compassion, confidence, failure, family, gratitude, growth, happiness, Life Coach, Life Coaching
At my most recent Food For Thought session we looked at our relationships…
It seems for all of us the hallmarks of healthy relationships are easy communication and a sense of security and support. Unhealthy relationships are recognisable for their poor communication and high expectations.
Expectations are very often the death knell of relationships. Mothers who expect to have the same relationship with their children throughout their lives can testify to this. Sisters who expect to be best friends but just don’t see eye-to-eye would agree.
Our easiest relationships are those in which we can be ourselves and allow others to do the same. When we look to our relationships to fix us we are looking in the wrong place! When we expect people to be there for us when they can’t be we are setting ourselves up for a fall.
In his beautiful, classic book The Road Less Travelled, M Scott-Peck suggests that the purpose of love is to promote and nurture the spiritual growth of the other. To love them for who they are and to support them as they grow. Free of expectation and free of manipulation.
The more I let go of my self-centred expectation of others, the more peace I find within myself… x