One of my favorite people is Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors. Why? Because of his vision, resolve and accomplishments. In discussing SpaceX before the first successful launch, he estimated that he had “a 10% chance of reaching orbit starting out.” When people told him he would fail he said, “we probably will fail” but it “was worth trying anyway.” SpaceX completed the fourth launch successfully after the first three failed and became the first private company to send people into orbit. Post-success when asked if he thought about giving up although he felt that his likelihood of failure was so high, replied, “I never give up.” Elon’s passion is to inspire future generations to pursue space, so it was worth the risk to “move the needle forward.” His expectation to move the needle forward fueled his passion and manifested his dream.

Many years ago, before migrating from Trinidad, I was challenged to a foot race against another guy around my age. We got down at the starting line when we heard, “On your marks.” At “Set” we adjusted to get ready to bolt and then came “Go!” I shot ahead of my competitor so quickly off the line that after the race I was told that he was looking around to see where I was. Unfortunately, I expected him to pass me even though I was in front and unwittingly began to slow down. Before we crossed the finish line, he passed me and won. Yes, it was a tough lesson.

The bible tells the story in John 4:43-54 of an official who asked God to “come and heal his son, who was close to death.” Instead, Jesus told him that his son will live. Here is the interesting part. The man believed Jesus and left because he expected his son to be healed. Indeed, his son was healed the moment Jesus spoke the word.

Is it possible that the shortfall in the quality of your life today is because of the expectations you exhibit? What would happen if you changed your expectations to endorse the dream you have or particular result you want? We learned that with expectations, the right action follows and the chance of achieving the desired end is extremely high. So, it is worth a shot to tweak your expectations, don’t you think?