Table of Contents
Introduction: Are You Living Free? 1
The Expectation Revelation 3
Are You Living Free? 4
Set Yourself Free 7
Part I Personal Expectations
1 The Dangers of Expectations 11
What Are Expectations? 16
2 The Secret Software Running Your Life 27
Expectations 2.0 29
R.I.P., Mr. Perfect 31
Get the Bugs Out of Your Operating System 35
We Are How We Think 37
The Choice Is Yours 38
3 Set Yourself Up for Success 41
What's in It for You? 44
You Be You for You, Not for Them 47
Get Out (of the Box) 49
4 Your Expectations Are Unrealistic 55
What Is an Unrealistic Expectation? 57
Unrealistic Expectations Are Future Resentments 58
The Pressure to Live Up to What Isn't Real 60
The Cost of Striving Too High (Parents, Be Careful) 62
Expectations from the School of Rock 64
What You Actually Can Control 65
5 Your Expectations Must Be Communicated 69
Learn Your ABCs 70
It's Not Always Easy to Hear No 73
Expectation Reset 75
Part II Cultural Expectations
6 Don't Do It for the Culture, Do It for Yourself 81
Canceled? 84
It's Your Life to Live 87
Follow Your Heart, No Matter Where You're From 90
You Have to Pay the Bill 92
7 Faith: The Real Sixth Sense 97
Get into the Position of Faith 99
Participation Takes You to Your Destination 102
Don't Live on Autopilot 104
Where Art Thou, God? 106
See with Godly Vision 109
Expectations Exceeded 110
8 Get Your Hope Back 113
The Devastation of Disappointment 116
Gotta Have Hope 119
The Information Prescription 121
Dare to Hope 123
Part III Relational Expectations
9 It's Not Them, It's You 129
Are You About to End It All? 131
The Myth of the Perfect Relationship 133
Only You Can Make You Happy 136
Let's Talk About Sex 137
The Expectations of "I Do" 143
Don't Get Married Because You're Expected To 145
Expectationships 146
10 Silence is Deadly 151
Communicate, or Else 152
How Baked Chicken Taught Me My Greatest Lesson About Relationships 153
Clean Your Glasses 159
What Lies Beneath 160
Explain Instead of Expect 162
You Control Only Yourself (and the Remote) 163
Talking Is All About Listening 165
11 There's No Cure for Singleness Because It's Not a Disease 169
The Upside of Being Single 171
Be Here (and Happy) Now 173
Love Affirmation for Singles 174
No Sex. No Problem. 176
Set Expectations Early in the Relationship 178
Dating 101: Where Is This. Going? 179
Release the Past 181
Part IV Professional Expectations
12 The Process is the Result 187
The Path to Mastery 191
My Expectation Breakdown 192
Break Your Addiction to Results 195
Perfect Your Process 197
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work 199
The Richer the Soil the Better the Growth 202
13 Fix Your Goals 205
Get Real About Your Goals 206
Setting the GPS System of Your Life 212
Life Is to Be Lived 215
You Control the Now but Not Always the When 216
The Secret to Achieving Your Goals 217
Become a Better Boss 219
14 To Succeed You Must Exceed 225
Become Addicted to Information 226
Learn Your Boss 230
Think Outside of Your Perspective 231
Communicate, Communicate, and Communicate Some More 233
Don't Just Meet Expectations, Exceed Them 236
15 Feel Your Feelings 239
Hear What Your Spirit Is Saying 241
Count the Cost 244
Unlock Your Potential 249
When It's Okay to Quit 250
Epilogue: Expectations! 253
Accomplish More 255
Go with the Flow 256
Expect the Unexpected 257
Unexpected Events Can Reveal Unexpected Gifts 260
Find Treasure in Tragedy 262
Get Your Joy Back 263
Be Free to Be You 265
Acknowledgments 269