A friend of mine used to be all in for exercise … then she’d hurt herself. Too much = too much. It happened frequently. I think of this when I get all gung ho for a project. I create massive expectations that heaven will come to earth and the sun will explode in glee, and then I stumble and stub my “toe”. We were growing up, my mom would freak with holiday pleasure up to the day and then when it finally came, I’m rather surprised she didn’t hit the bed with a gallon of spiked nog – just done. (Micki Disney carts out the Christmas tree at 11AM on Christmas day – probably for the same reason.)
I heard on National Public Radio this last weekend that we tend to do this a lot: build the false hope of amazing expectations and then when they don’t pan out – life as we know it’s over. The guy on the radio said the better way is to have low expectations or in a nice way, realistic expectations of the outcome, so that we can only be pleasantly surprised with the actual outcome. When we manage our expectations realistically, our rose colored glasses become clearer.
So as I look to the future – be it for Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics or my life or even RAGBRAI, I need to manage my expectations appropriately. Too much doom and gloom creates a dark veil over everything … too rosy, it’s easy not to achieve “said glory” and then, disappointment. Add to this equation a healthy dose of patience and even though it doesn’t have the “POP!” of winning the lottery, there is a better chance that I will be satisfied.
Will there be days at the hospital when I just want to lay down under my desk and weep? … Probably, will it rain on RAGBRAI? Probably. Will I have days personally that I don’t feel the best? Yes. Waltzing through life as if it were one big party thrown especially for me doesn’t really work anymore. So my advice is to smile knowingly while breathing patiently. It’ll all work out in the end – not necessarily with a massive payoff, but … that’s all right.
-Steve Simonin, President & CEO
