Aspirations?

Or expectations? 

Aspirations are our wish to achieve things.

Expectations are the belief that something will happen.

Aspirations involve what happens inside us. Arising from within, they require action on our part. I aspire to help others. I aspire to be a more understanding person. I aspire to enjoy the day whether the sun shines or the rain pours down.

Expectations often involve what happens outside us. I expect others to appreciate my help, my partner to agree with my dinner plans, the sun to shine while the rain holds off. Aspirations show our higher goals. I aspire to be more patient, to spend more time with my children, to be a model of goodness, to meet my parent’s ideals for me. Expectations are more ordinary.

Because expectations involve others, outcomes are unpredictable, which invariably translates to unhappiness. An aspiration is a wish that I act on, but an expectation can depend on others to perform or a situation to unfold as I want.

Expectations often bind us to disappointment.

Aspirations enable us to soar.