Quotes About Expectations

Every subsequent moral crisis of my life, moreover, has had precisely the pattern of this struggle over the first Communion, I have battled, usually without avail, against a temptation to do something which only I knew was bad, being swept on by a need to preserve outward appearances and to live up to other people's expectations of me.

They had caught a glimpse of themselves in a mirror, a mirror placed at a turning point where they had expected to see daylight and freedom, and though each of them, individually, was far from believing himself perfect, all had counted on the virtues of others to rescue them themselves.

I'm short, I'm thin, I'm not rich. I would say my career choice is in fourth place in limiting my effectiveness as a single adult." (It's possible that it helped. Within a year, he would be married.)

No man got an erection from looking at "brown string sandals.

I have a list of party guests in my desk drawer that dates from around 1997. Every so often I take it out and add the people we've met, cross off the couples that have moved away, and then put it back in my drawer. I long ago came to accept that we're never actually going to have this party; we're just going to keep updating the list—which, for people like me, is a party all by itself.

He wanted to tell her, from the greater perspective he had, that to own only a little talent, like his, was an awful, plaguing thing; that being only a little special meant you expected too much, most of the time, and liked yourself too little. He wanted to assure her that she had missed nothing

He wanted to tell her, from the greater perspective that he had, that to own only a little talent, like his, is an awful, plaguing thing; that being only a little special meant that you expected too much, most of the time, and like yourself too little. He wanted to assure her that she had missed nothing.

Frightened, I ran into the study to tell him and asked, "Are you going to call Dr. Schloss?"5 By which he deduced that I had eaten the pennies to get attention. I hadn't, but that's what having a reputation means. It's like getting a carved owl for your birthday and politely saying how much you like it; soon, everyone thinks that's what you want and you're overrun with owls.

Seek Happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries. Yet why do I say this? I have myself been blasted in these hopes, yet another may succeed.

El aspecto encantador de la naturaleza me elevaba el ánimo; el pasado se me borraba de la memoria; el presente era tranquilo, y el futuro embellecido, por rayos luminosos de esperanza y expectativas de alegría.

I wondered irritably why married women so often adopted that tone, almost, of superior satisfaction in the things they had to suffer.

Remember that am they creature, I ought to be thy Adam, but am rather the fallen Angel.

I was required to exchange chimeras of boundless grandeur for realities of little worth

Unusually for the Trump era, the argument in the hearings was not about the facts—the facts were known and uncontested—but about the nature of political power in America. One side was arguing that political power was provisionally granted by voters and limited by law, rules, norms, expectations, policy legacy, and the system of checks and balances. The other side was arguing that power wants to be absolute and is limited only by what the president can get away with.

It's all about expectations – hell's a bit more bearable when you always knew you were going there.

Most people overestimate what they can do in a day, and underestimate what they can do in a month. We overestimate what we can do in a year, and underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade. by Matthew Kelly from the book The Long View

She rarely lets me off the hook, holding me to a different standard of emotional intelligence than the other men in her life - even my Brothers. She allows them to behave like Gary, docilely going about their lives, content and happy and completely oblivious to the sticky, ugly things just a few inches below the surface of everything.

Gary has made the classic mistake of equating precise cheekbones, perfect breasts, and a vague association with philanthropy as the signs of a good woman.

People hate the idea of politicians, you see, but love the idea of authors, at least until they meet one.

It turns out that maybe breeding bonsai-tree children to become résumé zombies isn't so good for their mental health.

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.

We study there a lot because... what other choice does society give us, right? It's Starbucks or death, sometimes.

It was like she had been punched in the gut. Stevie said stuff like that all the time and was told she was wrong. David said it once and got a nod and a compliment. Oh, the magic of dudes. If only they bottled it.

Few words are more chilling when put together than make friends. The command to pair bond sent ice water through Stevie's veins. She wanted falling rocks. But she knew what would happen if she didn't do the talking—her parents would. And if her parents started, anything could happen.