Great Expectations

An expectation is a belief about what might happen in the future, like your expectation to stay close with your best friends your whole life. 

Expectations. Those we have about our self and those we have of others. Expectations may bring excitement, fear, anticipation, hope and more importantly the drive and determination to succeed in achieving what we want.

Let’s take a few steps back to when I last posted. I was expecting to wake up from my anaesthetic slumber to hear perfectly like a puppy waiting for its master’s whistle telling him dinner is ready. (I know how they feel, as my ears certainly prick up at the sound of the call for dinner time.) However, picture the scene. I opened my eyes, ‘Molly, come on it’s time to wake up now sweetheart.’ I felt like I was underwater. I had not reckoned on this deep diving experience, mouthing to each other whilst gesturing the OK sign… I clearly wasn’t.
Fast forward a few days later, back to see the consultant, his words ringing in my ears like the constant noises I had been experiencing since I had woken up. I’m told this will settle, so this current expectation is on a backburner… watch this space, but I certainly won’t let this defeat me.

I have now managed to get back to netball quite quickly. This week I faced the dreaded fitness testing session. Maybe I did OK because I couldn’t actually hear the bleep! (I did have to actually tell the S&C coach to turn up the volume on the speaker.) Not going to lie, the deadline of a 10,000-word essay seems more appealing than doing the 30:15. But we are expected to do it and when it’s done, it feels great. Expectation achieved.

You hear lots of people expecting lots of you every single day. From your parents, your teachers, your coaches. But what happens when we don’t achieve these expectations? I think it is really important to set yourself goals, (I know that I have touched on this before.) I might occasionally miss the wash basket when throwing in my socks (always shooting,) and I expect Mum will tell me repeatedly to bring my empty glasses downstairs from my bedroom. Actually, it does matter to my Mum, because she expects me to respect her and do what I have been asked to do. It’s the same on court. I kind of see my coach a bit like my Mum. There for me, supporting me, guiding me and expecting great things of me, if I put the work in. Without expectations, how do we gauge what we need to do to get to where we want to be?

Working as a team brings a lot of expectations from each other. Communication is key. Today, during a game, I jumped like a leaping salmon, (minus the gills and tail,) into the abyss for one of the best interceptions I have ever made. As a shooter, this never happens! I was expecting my teammate to be there to back me up on the circle edge. She wasn’t. However, I expected too much of her as I threw the ball into the space where I thought she was. I was at fault here, rushing into things, being one step ahead. So, we learn by this, not to always expect things to be how we want them to be. It is all about listening to each other.  This just demonstrates how we should never assume that people can always fit and match people’s expectations.  If we don’t always meet them, then we should support each other and encourage new approaches. There is no ‘I’ in team. Always expect the best, the worst, the positive and the negative of situations. But ultimately, set your heart and mind on something and be equipped.

You probably weren’t expecting this blog until tomorrow… but look who’s being prepared for once! Never worry about raising people’s expectations of you!