Expectations

Ok, so yesterday you probably thought I was going to relate some hilarious April Fool Day's story didn't you? It's okay, be honest. Sometimes though, our expectations aren't met. Frequently this is disappointing, rarely, it's exciting. Amongst the one-line top tips I've collected over the last few years one of my favourites is to try and make the next word as unexpected as possible. During an undergrad seminar we examined the literal, as opposed to the figurative. We also rewrote a number of similes. It's easy. Think of any simile, there's a fair chance it's a cliche too. So, rewrite it, think about it for a while and there's a myriad of options available. Don't tell me something's as cheap as chips, tell me it's as cheap as the unbranded children's building blocks in T k maxx. Who knows, they may even sponsor your blog...

Digressed already, sorry! Too much Victor Hugo. Expectations. During the restructuring of my life I have spent a huge number of hours considering mine, realigning them for greater efficiency. Never in my wildest dreams... whoops, never in my most outrageous hopes did I expect to be earning money from writing. And yet, here I now am and things are moving forward nicely. I enjoy the writing. I'm loving trying to meet that challenge of writing a story over the length of a novel. Of putting words together to make poetry. Of trying to help others to work with their inhibitions and put pen to paper.

Relationships tend be built around expectations. And how we communicate those of course. I feel sure that more open and honest talking would sort out so much of modern life friction. It's about getting yourself across simply, and then listening. Don't finish your sentence and start formulating the next one. Listen. I think I'm a pretty good listener, my problem is thinking I don't have anything valid to say back. Get rid of that expectation and perhaps, who knows? I suppose that ties in with treating others as you would like to be treated. Now that's a maxim I would force people to have as their daily mantra for at least one month of the year, gosh it might even grow from there...