The "Back to the Future" Effect ... or the importance of expectations
They have filled the news and magazines these days about the fact that it has arrived from the day that set one of the most beloved films of the last decades: "Back to the Future II" . In the film, the protagonist traveled to October 21, 2015 , and there (here) a whole vision of a future that in the end has little to resemble the one we really have. No flying cars, no travel in time, no special skates ... and they did not predict what mobile phones or tablets.
What would they be thinking? Does this mean that in 2350 we will not be able to do space travel? Will television sets that emit odors never arrive? We can not trust Rappel!
The importance of expectations in our life
Humor aside, this cinephile introduction brings me to the topic I want to talk about in this article: The expectations . Expectations collect ideas, illusions, fears, predictions and hopes of what has not yet happened. We have expectations of the results we will get in exams and jobs, how a new job will go, how a medical treatment will work or how that appointment will go. We have an idea of how we want our life to be at 50, where we want to retire, where we would like to raise our children, etc.
What happens is that not always everything happens as we expect . Life is full of surprises and what we thought was going to happen before is a simple memory in our mind of what could have been. When we do not fulfill what we expected may come feelings and experiences such as disappointment, frustration, anger or sadness . Knowing how to adjust our expectations and face the possible surprises and frustrations will help us in our day to day. But how to do it? How to work on our thoughts of the future when we are saying that this can be totally unpredictable? Here are a few tips.
6 tips to manage expectations and frustration
1. Be realistic
Be aware of how far you can go. I do not want to upset those who say we can get where we want, but we have to be clear about the path that will take us to our goals . I can not publish a book if I do not dedicate my hours to write it and if I do not also train in writing techniques, for example. Going by setting goals that we can achieve will help us a lot to take better advantage of the work and make it much more bearable.
2. Control and be aware of your options
Like many, I would like to have a mansion, but I am aware that in my situation and the money that I have, it will probably never happen. It is not an act of resignation or discouragement, but acceptance . To know where I am, where I come from, and where I can get with what I have and what I am doing. It's about knowing what cards I have and how to play them.
3. Tolerate frustration
Not everything will always come out as we want. There will always be something that escapes our control and it is necessary to know how to deal with those situations . First control your mood and the way it has affected you, and then relativize and reflect on what you can do, the level of severity, change, threat, benefits and what really matters.
It may interest you: "Intolerance to frustration: 5 tricks and strategies to combat it"4. Tolerate uncertainty
Following the previous point, accept that there will always be something that we can not control or hope will alleviate many anxieties and discomfort r. This works especially in health and work contexts. Do medical tests, wait for results, go to job interviews ... all are situations marked by a huge uncertainty. Managing the nervousness and worries that cause these events is essential to cope with the day to day.
5. Trust the specialists
People who know a topic will be able to guide you better in topics you do not know and thus adjust your expectations on any topic. With a psychologist, for example, You can have a more realistic idea of when you can overcome that loss that has marked you so much , and this you will get better than if you look for that information for yourself or you make ideas based on other sources of non-specialized information.
6. Live in the present and learn from mistakes
What we really have is today, this moment when you are reading this. We will never know 100% what will happen in a few days or a few months, but that does not mean that what we work on a daily basis takes us to a desired goal. It works day by day, Be flexible, accept and combat changes and unforeseen events with all the elegance you can .
We invite you to know this compilation: "25 positive phrases to focus better on day to day"Rethinking our future
After these tips can give you the feeling that making movies about the future and science fiction does not make any sense, but recalls that movies do not stop being movies, and for that there are film directors to carry them out.We create our own film day by day and enjoy the shooting!
