High Hopes // Low Expectations
A Great Start to Approaching Something New
When I was 18 years old, I went to Israel for my last semester of school. I wanted to leave my 12 years of education behind in the dust of grand adventure. I was living in Miami at the time. The Miami Jewish Federation put the program together to help their community of young people learn more about the country and its history. It was fully immersive - 4000 years of history in eight weeks. The program took us directly to all the places we were learning about, and I’m not talking about walking around museums, I’m talking about climbing mountains and swimming in the sea. It actually pushed and pulled my boundaries quite a bit. I was one of 2 non-Jews on the program, and by the time it was over I wanted to change my religion.
For someone who craves a good dose of nature, it was the first time I’ve ever been in arid mountains, and I fell in love with their stark, raw beauty. I also was in awe of the resilient nature of the nation-state, and all the miraculous things they had done over the years to reclaim the land. Of course, there were sad and terrible things as well. It was impossible to miss the degradation of the Palestinian people, and the seemingly impossible solution for finding a fair way to live together on that small parcel of earth.
Well, this is not a political blog, so on to the point. One of the things the creators and teachers of the program told us when we got there was to have high hopes and low expectations. If we came on this trip expecting a glamorous holiday, or an exciting adventure (as I had hoped), we would be sorely disappointed. It was going to be rugged, and quite difficult. But there would be beauty in the difficulties, and so much to learn.
I never forgot that phrase, and I’ve used it throughout my life for many things. Facing a blank page, for instance, or kicking off on a new project for a client. Now, you could ask, why would I have low expectations around my writing? That’s not very promising a place to start. If you’ve ever written anything, you know the highs and lows that come with crafting a story. We start off with such great expectations and find ourselves working our way through character development, setting, and much more. That storyline we thought was pure gold can old often turn to dust before our very eyes.
Likewise, with running a business. I can get a new piece of business that seems so exciting, and for just a minute, I think it’s going to be the one project that defines my agency. And then we get started. We meet the real people behind the brand, face the true hurdles to achieving their goals, and that game-changing remit becomes, well, work.
Starting off with low expectations BUT high hopes helps me get rid of visions of grandeur and get down to work. Here are a few things I’ve found that make using this approach so worthwhile:
Don’t underestimate the power of hope. Hope is not a simple, fleeting thing. Hope is what keeps us getting up each day and facing the work to be done.
When dealing with disappointment, or even disaster, hope can anchor your spirit and soul. It is a strong foundation for your next move.
We may not all have genius within us, but we can ALL have hope.
Hope for a better YOU FILL IN THE BLANK is what keeps all visionaries seeing the future.
My favorite scripture is Hebrews 11 - Faith is the substance of things HOPED for, the evidence of things not seen. If that doesn’t sound like quantum physics I don’t know what does. Does faith come from hope? Yes, it does.
So, go ahead, get your Hope groove on and watch those low expectations rise.