“Keep your expectations low and you’ll never be disappointed”,” I find my life is a lot easier the lower I keep my expectations,” – Bill Waterson. There are countless quotations about expectations that remind us of why we should keep our expectations as low as possible if we want to be happy in this life. And it’s not without good reason. We all know the power of expectation. Whether you’ve felt the pressure of trying to live up to someone else’s expectations of you or you’ve felt let down by someone not living up to the expectations you had for them. Either way, you know the impact that having expectations has on all of us. But this post isn’t about why you should keep your expectations low. Instead, these are 19 inspiring quotations about expectations. Some will inspire you to focus on the expectations that really matter, those you have for yourself, some will uplift you, and others will remind you why expectations matter.

19 Quotes About Expectations That Will Inspire You To Focus On The Expectations That Really Matter

1. I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values – and follow my own moral compass – then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.

-Michelle Obama 

2. We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents and interests.

-Sheryl Sandberg 

3. “Set the standard! Stop expecting others to show you love, acceptance, commitment, & respect when you don’t even show that to yourself.”

― Steve Maraboli

4. “When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.”

― Donald Miller

5. Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event.

-Brian Tracy 

6 . I feel like if you don’t put too much expectations and too much high hopes into things, everything will fall into place.

-Christina Milian

7. “Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.”

― Stephen R. Covey

8. We look at science as something very elite, which only a few people can learn. That’s just not true. You just have to start early and give kids a foundation. Kids live up, or down, to expectations.

-Mae Jameson  

9. “There were two ways to be happy: improve your reality, or lower your expectations”

― Jodi Picoult,

10. If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.

-Michael Jordan 

11. Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

-Steve jobs 

12. A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.

― Jonathan Lockwood Huie

13. “I hope you do not let anyone else’s expectations direct the course of your life.”

― Julianne Donaldson

14. You are only as beautiful as the many beautiful things you do for others without expectation. – Janelle Monae

15. I’ve always loved the idea of not being what people expect me to be. -Dita Von Teese

16. I would like to say to people, open your eyes and find beauty where you normally don’t expect it. – Jean-Paul Gaultier

17. We don’t want people to have expectations of us, but then we have expectations of everybody else.

-Lauren Hill 

18. If we’re stuck with having expectations, there’s a very good reason to embrace positive ones: It’s that we often create what we anticipate.

-Martha Beck 

19 – The person who dumps garbage into your mind will do you considerably more harm than the person who dumps garbage on your floor, because each load of mind garbage negatively impacts your possibilities and lowers your expectations.

-Zig ziglar