Expectations can be a real stumbling block in early (and even later) sobriety – especially after a stint in a drug rehab.
Expectation is defined as a belief that something will happen. When someone is active in the disease of addiction, beliefs or expectations can be, and typically are, extremely out of line. This distorted thinking can lead to disappointment, anger, frustration, or worse.
It’s been said that expectations are premeditated resentments.
To look at this statement and come to terms with what this means and why it’s important is one key to finding serenity in recovery from addiction.
When there is an expectation about how someone will behave or react to a certain situation, the expectation typically comes from how you perceive that you would act in that situation. This form of thinking can be dangerous. When you look at a situation this way, you are taking into account your own intention, your own experience, and your own thought processes. The person with whom you are projecting the expectation on to may or may not have any of these things in common with you and therefore, may or may not react in a similar way as you.
When you have created a picture in your mind of how a person or situation will be, you have set yourself up for disappointment or resentment.
