Welcome to a meditation on expectations.
Find a comfortable seat cross legged or perhaps on a chair with your feet on the floor.
Allow your hands to rest palms down on the knees or on tops of the thigh.
Allow the crown of your head to extend towards the ceiling.
Take a four count breath in through the nose.
Hold for two counts.
Exhale through the nose for four counts.
And hold for two counts.
Once more we'll inhale through the nose for four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Hold for one,
Two.
Exhale through the nose for three,
Two,
One.
And hold at the bottom for two counts,
Two.
If you're comfortable you may now allow your eyes to close.
Continue this four,
Two,
Four,
Two count breathing throughout this meditation time.
If you begin to get lost,
Come back to your breath,
Inhaling and exhaling for equal counts.
Expectations can be beneficial for creating standards or for accountability.
Expectations can also become unrealistic.
Differences in expectations typically begin many disagreements between people.
Expectations and the failure to meet those expectations can create a significant amount of negative self-talk.
When we experience this negative self-talk,
We can look at how reasonable our expectations are for ourselves.
What are some expectations that you have of yourself?
Are these expectations realistic?
If you were to hold a friend,
Coworker,
Or a loved one to any of the expectations you hold yourself to,
Would they be able to meet those standards?
Reflect on how expectations have impacted your relationships with others and yourself.
Are there expectations that you can let go of as you acknowledge your capabilities?
Give others permission to be themselves.
Come back to the breath for the counts of four for the inhale.
Retain for two,
Four counts for the exhale,
And suspend for two.
Four count inhale,
Three,
Four.
Retain for two,
Two.
Four count exhale,
Three,
Four.
Suspend for two.
Continue with this breath count as you let the mind take whatever path that needs to right now.
Invite your breath to become even on the inhale and the exhale.
When you're ready,
Invite movement into your toes and your fingers.
And as you're ready,
Open your eyes.
