Choose to have high general expectations and low to no specific expectations.

This means that, in

general, you take on an optimistic outlook regarding yourself and your life. You’re confident in your
abilities. But you realize that in any specific instance, on a macro and micro level, an outcome can be
poor. For example, in a conversation, you might say one thing you regret, or regret the entire
conversation—these both fall under a “specific” instance. Because of this, you don’t have specific
expectations for any individual event or undertaking. You take any individual failures in stride,
knowing that they’re a small part of a much bigger picture.

What are your expectations for events on your schedule? If they’re high, adjust them lower, or,
better yet, try to drop expectations and go in with a “We’ll see what happens” perspective. This
won’t negatively impact your enjoyment of positive events; it will only enhance it while protecting
you from negative surprises. Try to be optimistic in general, but don’t tie your hopes to any
situation—this helps you be flexible when confronting imperfections.