I am a person with high expectations. I expect everyone to treat me the way I treat them. If I show someone I respect them, I assume they will reciprocate. If I’m there for the people I care about, I rely on the same in return. I also set the bar too high for myself. For that reason, I occasionally like to read enlightening don’t expect quotes.
I found that when our expectations run high, we ultimately set ourselves up for disappointment. It stands us in good stead to accept that things don’t always go our way and that whatever happens was meant to happen. If we keep expectations in check, we can only end up pleasantly surprised and feel like everything we get is a reward.
In case you need some inspiration to keep your anticipations under control, delve into these profound don’t expect quotes. May these sayings inspire you not to expect anything so you could appreciate whatever comes your way.
The Most Motivational Quotes for Lowering Your Expectations
Don’t Expect Quotes to Help Keep Disappointment at Bay
#1. “If you expect nothing from nobody, you are never disappointed.” — Sylvia Plath
#2. “Don’t blame people for disappointing you. Blame yourself for expecting too much from them.”
#3. “Do everything with a good heart, expect nothing in return, and you will never be disappointed.” — Buddha
#4. “When you learn to accept instead of to expect, you will have fewer disappointments.”
#5. “Don’t expect things to happen. It’s better to be surprised than to be disappointed.”
#6. “Expect more, get less, and feel sadness. Or expect less, get more, and feel happiness.” — Vijay Dhameliya
#7. “People who don’t expect justice don’t have to suffer disappointment.” — Isaac Asimov
#8. “Expectations should not always be taken as reality because you never know when you will be disappointed.” — Samuel P. Huntington
#9. “Hope and expectations are different names for the first part of the path to disappointment.”
#10. “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” — Alexander Pope
Iconic Don’t Expect Quotes You Should Live By
#11. “Don’t expect loyalty when you can’t provide honesty.”
#12. “You can’t expect to hit the jackpot if you don’t put a few nickels in the machine.” — Flip Wilson
#13. “Never expect a loan to a friend to be paid back if you want to keep that friend.” — Bryant H. McGill
#14. “If you want to give yourself a fair chance to succeed, never expect too much too soon.” — Po Bronson
#15. “Never expect too much from a friend, and you will never want for one.” — Sophie Irene Loeb
#16. “If you are absent during my struggle, don’t expect to be present during my success.”
#17. “Never expect people to treat you any better than you treat yourself.” — Bo Bennett
#18. “When you let go of your expectations, when you accept life as it is, you’re free. To hold on is to be serious and uptight. To let go is to lighten up.” — Richard Carlson
#19. “Never get too attached to anyone unless they also feel the same towards you because one-sided expectations kill you.”
#20. “If you expect great things of yourself and demand little of others, you’ll keep resentment far away.” — Confucius
Don’t Expect Quotes to Start Putting Into Practice
#21. “Never expect, never presume, always work hard, and always be true to who you are.” — Jessie J
#22. “Hope, but never expect. Look forward, but never wait.”
#23. “Don’t expect anyone to understand your journey, especially if they have never walked your path.”
#24. “Never expect. Never ask. Never demand. Just let it be. If it’s meant to be, it will happen.”
#25. “When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.” — Donald Miller
#26. “Don’t expect to get what you give. Not everyone has a heart like you.”
#27. “Expect nothing. Appreciate everything.”
#28. “I never expect to lose. Even when I’m the underdog, I still prepare a victory speech.” — H. Jackson Brown
#29. “Don’t expect to see a change if you don’t make one.”
#30. “There are two ways to be happy: improve your reality or lower your expectations.” — Jodi Picoult
#31. “My mother always taught me to be strong and to never be a victim. Never make excuses. Never expect anyone else to provide for me things I know I can provide for myself.” — Beyonce
#32. “Don’t expect to receive if you are not willing to give.”
#33. “I love argument. I love debate. I don’t expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me. That’s not their job.” — Margaret Thatcher
Edifying Don’t Expect Quotes to Guide You Through Life
#34. “Honesty is a very expensive gift. Don’t expect it from cheap people.”
#35. “The secret to happiness is low expectations.” — Barry Schwartz
#36. “I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” — Bruce Lee
#37. “I find my life is a lot easier the lower I keep my expectations.” — Bill Watterson
#38. “Stress is the gap between our expectations and reality.” — Buddha
#39. “If you are helping someone and expecting something in return, you are doing business, not kindness.”
#40. “Sometimes, the best relationships are the ones you never expected to be in. The ones that sweep you off your feet and change every view you have ever had.”
#41. “Peace begins when expectations end.” — Buddha
#42. “Simple things become complicated when you expect too much.”
#43. “Please don’t expect me to always be good and kind and loving. There will be times when I will be cold and thoughtless and hard to understand.” — Sylvia Plath
#44. “We’re wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize that it isn’t, we start looking around for the real world.” — Lev Grossman
#45. “Things rarely happen the way you expect them to. But that doesn’t mean they don’t happen the way they are supposed to.” — Ella Fox
Final Thoughts
All in all, I hope these don’t expect quotes have taught you some valuable life lessons. For my part, I realized that we should let things unravel without overthinking beforehand.
Instead of having high expectations, we need to channel our energy into being productive and making our aspirations a reality. In the end, keeping our expectations low will bring us fewer disillusionments and more happiness.
