AtQ – What Do You Expect?

Exploring Powerful Questions

In the most recent episode of the Talking Notes I explore the idea that certain areas of life may indeed benefit from expectations. This is quite an outlandish proposition, especially in light of the negative way expectations seem to function when we place them upon ourselves (let alone others). For example, in the coaching world, we often steer clients clear of expectations, considering them to be one of the underlying causes of limiting beliefs. Expected action and outcomes can limit our view of what is possible. We become closed to anything other than what we expect. They limit what we will commit to working towards, even our belief that anything can change.

Our question is simple, direct, and meant to bring to the light any expectations we might carry. So, we ask…

What Do You Expect?

There are many sides to this question, and I will attempt to introduce three of them here. First, there is the way that expectations serve as a limiting function on our lives. Here our answers to the question might be sprinkled with words like “should” and “supposed to.” This kind of language is a tell-tale sign that our actions are being run by expectations of outcome. Notably we may also be trying to impose our will on others this way. A commitment to behavior modification often comes from this kind of thinking. Behavior modification is simply the idea that I change the way I act by changing my actions, by a force of will. This approach serves a significant purpose and does much good, but there is a way that is much deeper.