the grate
JF-Expert Member
- Sep 24, 2011
- 204
- 36
Well, what do you
expect?" Has anybody
ever asked you that?
Sometimes, my greatest
disappointments have
come because I
expected something
that was simply not
realistic.
You may know that
Robert Lucas won the
1995 Nobel Memorial
Prize in economics. His
ex-wife received half of
his $1 million award.
Yes, his EX-wife. As it
happened, when they
were divorcing in 1988,
she had her lawyer add
one tiny clause to the
property settlement:
"Wife shall receive 50
percent of any Nobel
prize." And her clause
had an expiration date:
October 31, 1995. He
won the prize on
October 10.
One would think that her
expectation of him
winning a Nobel Prize
might be irrational. How
many people do that?
It's something like my
winning the Iron Man
Marathon by the year
3000. That just won't
happen.
But the difference is that
I don't train, and she
seemed to be sure that it
was only a matter of
time before his
outstanding work would
be recognized in such a
way. Within seven years,
she thought. So it turned
out her expectation was
entirely rational.
(Ironically, Lucas was
honored for an
economic theory he
called, "Rational
Expectations.")
I admittedly know
nothing about Lucas'
Theory of Rational
Expectations in
economics. But I do
know something about
irrational expectations
among people. And I
know that irrational
expectations can cause
untold disappointment.
Like the expectation that
someone else will make
me happy. This is
irrational. Nobody can
make me happy. That is
my job. If I expect others
to make me happy or to
keep me happy, I know I
will be disappointed
again and again.
Or the expectation that
life should be, for the
most part, relatively easy
and problem free. This,
too, is irrational. Bad
things happen. Living
can be difficult. If I
expect things to be easy,
if I expect NOT to have
problems, if I expect to
avoid pain and
heartache, I know I will
be in for serious
disappointment.
Problems are here to
stay.
I don't mean to paint a
picture of life as bleak
and miserable. It isn't. In
fact, I think it is
amazingly wonderful.
And all the more
wonderful when I don't
expect too much out of
it. I expect problems, but
I also expect to find joy. I
do not expect others to
always please me, but I
do expect to be
responsible for my own
well-being.
So what did you
expect? I think if you can
answer that question
well, you can expect to
be much happier.
expect?" Has anybody
ever asked you that?
Sometimes, my greatest
disappointments have
come because I
expected something
that was simply not
realistic.
You may know that
Robert Lucas won the
1995 Nobel Memorial
Prize in economics. His
ex-wife received half of
his $1 million award.
Yes, his EX-wife. As it
happened, when they
were divorcing in 1988,
she had her lawyer add
one tiny clause to the
property settlement:
"Wife shall receive 50
percent of any Nobel
prize." And her clause
had an expiration date:
October 31, 1995. He
won the prize on
October 10.
One would think that her
expectation of him
winning a Nobel Prize
might be irrational. How
many people do that?
It's something like my
winning the Iron Man
Marathon by the year
3000. That just won't
happen.
But the difference is that
I don't train, and she
seemed to be sure that it
was only a matter of
time before his
outstanding work would
be recognized in such a
way. Within seven years,
she thought. So it turned
out her expectation was
entirely rational.
(Ironically, Lucas was
honored for an
economic theory he
called, "Rational
Expectations.")
I admittedly know
nothing about Lucas'
Theory of Rational
Expectations in
economics. But I do
know something about
irrational expectations
among people. And I
know that irrational
expectations can cause
untold disappointment.
Like the expectation that
someone else will make
me happy. This is
irrational. Nobody can
make me happy. That is
my job. If I expect others
to make me happy or to
keep me happy, I know I
will be disappointed
again and again.
Or the expectation that
life should be, for the
most part, relatively easy
and problem free. This,
too, is irrational. Bad
things happen. Living
can be difficult. If I
expect things to be easy,
if I expect NOT to have
problems, if I expect to
avoid pain and
heartache, I know I will
be in for serious
disappointment.
Problems are here to
stay.
I don't mean to paint a
picture of life as bleak
and miserable. It isn't. In
fact, I think it is
amazingly wonderful.
And all the more
wonderful when I don't
expect too much out of
it. I expect problems, but
I also expect to find joy. I
do not expect others to
always please me, but I
do expect to be
responsible for my own
well-being.
So what did you
expect? I think if you can
answer that question
well, you can expect to
be much happier.
