Also, I use affiliate links when recommending books or products. These give me a small commission if you use them to make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
Prefer to listen? Check out the related episode from the I Hear You podcast.
This post is part of an ongoing series from my upcomingĀ HighbrowĀ Course: ā10 Days to Better Relationships,ā which is focused onāsurprise!āimproving your relationships.
Today weāre talking about expectationsāthe silent killer of relationships.
How aware are you of your day-to-day expectations? Of what youāre expecting from life, your significant other, or even the strangers you interact with? Chances are, you build out dozensāif not hundredsāof expectations each day. Chances are also good that you’re only aware of a small fraction of them.
So what?
Think of a recent interaction where you became frustrated, angry, or disappointed. This could be with a romantic partner, coworker, friend, or family member. What caused the upset? Did they leave dirty dishes in the sink? Did they not respond to your email or text? Did they not invite you to go out last weekend?
In most cases, the anger, frustration, or hurt you feel has more to do with your unmet expectations than it does with whatever actually happened.
Doing the Dishes
Say you come home one evening and notice that your roommate or spouse has left a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, for the hundredth time. āHe always does this!ā You think to yourself, fuming over his lack of respect. āIāve asked him a thousand times to do the dishes and I still come home to a full sink!ā
Whatās your expectation here? That heāll do the dishes, right? But what if he did do the dishesājust earlier that morning? Or what if he was planning to do them later that evening?
Your expectation here isnāt just that heāll do the dishes, itās that youāll come home to a clean sink. Itās that heāll do the dishes right before you get home, or not leave dirty dishes in the sink in the first place.
So the next question is: did you communicate those expectations to him? If you were specific about wanting to come home to a clean sink, then you may want to talk it over again. But if you said āplease do your dishes more often,ā can you really resent him for not knowing you actually meant āplease make sure the sink is empty when I get home each night?ā
In this situation, your resentment has nothing to do with your spouse or roommate. He did what you asked him to. Your resentment has to do with the fact that you had other expectations that you werenāt conscious of, but are still holding him accountable for.
Uncommunicated Expectations are The Problem
There is nothing wrong with expectationsāeven high expectations. Itās when we arenāt aware of those expectations, and/or donāt communicate them to people they involve, that we run into issues.
āMy husband is so inconsiderate.ā
Why?
āBecause he doesnāt ever offer to help with the laundry.ā
You have an expectation that your husband will offer to help with the laundry. Have you told him this? Maybe heās willing, but thinks you enjoy it?
āI feel like my girlfriend doesnāt care about me.ā
Why?
āBecause she never texts me first. Iām always the one to send the first message. If I wait for her to reach out, she never does.ā
You have an expectation that your girlfriend will initiate conversations with you. Have you told her that? What if sheās enamored by you, but believes itās the manās role to initiate things?
See how quickly a lack of awareness and communication can cause issues?
How to Recognize Hidden Expectations
To recognize hidden expectations, look for resentment or emotional turmoil in your life. Nine times out of ten, youāre upset because reality did not live up to your expectations.
- If you send a text to a friend and get upset when she doesnāt reply right away, you had an expectation that she would. Did you ask for an immediate response when you sent it?
- If youāre upset with your friends because you feel they werenāt thoughtful enough on your birthday, what were you expecting? A surprise party? An evening out together? Did you communicate any of that or just expect them to read your mind?
- If you get upset when your spouse comes home from work and plops down in front of the TV, what were you expecting them to do? Help make dinner? Watch the kids so you can have a break? Are they being rude or have you simply not communicated your expectations to them?
Got it? Try it.
Think of a person or situation youāre feeling upset about and do some digging for any unexpressed expectations. If you identify one or more, consider sharing them with that person. If you notice you have an expectation ahead of time, decide to either 1) be okay if itās not met, or 2) communicate that expectation with the person it involves.
What do you think? Have you found this to be true in your life? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
4 thoughts on “Expectations: The Silent Killer of Relationships”
Good article!!!
We do indeed not share enough our expectations properly.
This is often because I or am not confident enough to express my expectations, thinking the other will think I am too high maintenance or demanding, and yes we sometimes hope people will meet our expectations without telling them out of love or care.
For example: I know my boyfriend likes a nice breakfast, without him to express his expectation I arrange a nice breakfast for him, cause I care, I love him so I like to “please” him…. so yes I expect him to please and consider me too, without me asking him… but often he does not!
I would find it great too if he organised for me a pick-nick for example because he knows I like that, without me needing to ask<
giving things to people without them asking is for me consideration.
Yes I expect unrequested consideration of my lover.
Does that make sence?
Hi Nathalie,
I agree that it’s natural to expect unrequested acts of service/love from people you care about. I suppose the first question is whether or not you’ve told your boyfriend that you enjoy picnics? Or, better yet, that you’d appreciate it if he would plan one, or surprise you from time to time? While some might say having to have such a conversation is unromantic, I find it’s simply a part of having a healthy, open relationship. What to you may seem obvious (that you like picnics and/or unexpected surprises) may actually not be so obvious to your boyfriend. Thoughts?
Michael
This is awesome! However I have some points of concern with this method. Iāve tried expressing my clear expectations the best I couldāand they were met with bitterness toward me and defensiveness for reasons why he wasnāt meeting my expectations. It didnāt go at all how Iād hoped (which is, humbly having an open mind to the other personās POV, and at least trying to understand it). I also expressed THAT expectation that i wouldāve hoped for him to be more open to the feedback and communication.
Any thoughts on how to better express those expectations? And secondly, how to mitigate the emotional weight if the person refuses to meet them?
Hi Alannah,
This is tricky, and something I appreciate you bringing up, as this post doesnāt acknowledge or speak to that very important point: not everyone will honor (or even respect, unfortunately) our expectations or requests. And, to further clarify, Iām not suggesting they *have* to. Though we of course hope they will at least listen, validate, and be respectful enough to have a conversation around why those expectations wonāt work for them, and work with us to find some common ground.
At the end of the day, we are responsible for communicating our wants, needs, and expectationsājust as it sounds you did. And, everyone else we talk to is responsible for the same. Sometimes, we get lucky, and the conversation goes well and our partner is happy to oblige. Other times, they arenāt willing (or able) to meet our expectations, but are happy to work with us to find some sort of compromise. And, still other times, they take offense (perhaps taking our comment personally), get defensive, and/or become aggressive, which effectively ends that discussion until they can get themselves back into truth and have a more respectful conversation.
Obviously, it is difficult to give specific advice for your situation without knowing how the conversation started, what the asks were, a little more of your background together, etc. If youāre comfortable sharing a bit more, feel free to email me here so you donāt have to post it all publicly. š
But as general advice, here are my thoughts:
1. When communicating an expectation, consider making it a question rather than a demand. For example, āHereās what I would like. Are you open to that?ā This clearly communicates your expectation and invites discussion around it.
2. Make it about you, not them. Rather than telling the other person how theyāre not meeting your expectations, consider explaining your expectation as a discovery youāve made about yourself. For example, instead of saying, āyou never plan dates like you used to,ā consider saying āIām realizing I have an expectation that weāll have a more formal date night every Friday, and I get bummed out when we end up just watching TV. I recognize that it may not be fair to expect that every week (āmakeā them angryāthey are responsible for their own happiness. But not everyone knows how to have these conversations cordially. So taking this approachāand utilizing these language tweaksācan increase your chances of a respectful conversation.
3. The other person needs to be humble. This one is completely out of your control, though there are some ways you can open the door to it. Generally, when someone gets defensive, itās because they donāt feel heard or understood. So even if you share your thoughts using the techniques above, the other person may go right into defense mode. From there, a little validation can go a long way toward inviting them out of it.
For example, if your spouse isnāt helping you tidy up the home at the end of the day, and they launch into how hard they work and why they feel they shouldnāt have to, you might say, āyouāre right! You work *so* hard during the dayāall the meetings, the calls, etc. I know are exhausting. And Iām sure helping me tidy up around the home is the *last* thing you want to do when you get home. Itās the last thing I want to do as well. And, itās important to me that we keep a clean home. What can we do to make that happen?ā
Iāll be curious to hear your thoughts.
Michael