For decades, research has shown that our perception of the world is influenced by our expectations. These expectations, also called “prior beliefs,” help us make sense of what we are perceiving in the present, based on similar past experiences.

Selective attention theories have suggested that individuals have a tendency to orient themselves toward, or process information from only one part of the environment with the exclusion of other parts. There is an abundant amount of evidence which supports that selective attention is governed by our arousal level.

The early selection model of attention, proposed by Broadbent, posits that stimuli are filtered, or selected to be attended to, at an early stage during processing. A filter can be regarded as the selector of relevant information based on basic features, such as color, pitch, or direction of stimuli.

Don’t expect others to know what you’re thinking when you know yourself. You can’t expect anyone else to understand what you’re thinking if you can’t articulate your thoughts. Understanding our own thoughts is more important than seeking the opinion of others.

Here’s how to live a life without expectations.

1. Become aware of expectations.
2. Stop wanting to be right.
3. Have no expectations of others.
4. Don’t compare yourself with others.
5. Focus on process goals instead of outcome goals.
6. Be open to changes and possibilities.
7. Allow others to manage their expectations of you.

While hope is a desire for something to happen (you want it to happen), expect refers to something you think will happen, even if you don’t want it to happen.

When you have zero expectations, everything else is just a pleasant surprise. In other words I’ve actually seen it as a strength. It’s a strength that I don’t need anything from anybody.