expectations.

whether it be set by our parents, our employers, our peers, or even ourselves, expectations are something we are faced by everyday. all who set these expectations say that it is to simply bring out the best in us - or out of the situation. but when do expectations reach that point of being too high? or when do some expectations backfire, and end up bringing out the worst in us - or the situation?
when you fall in love with someone, they (without realising) set certain standards for you. which means, when you fall out of love you have lots of little expectations running around in your mind of what you want in another man. to begin with, these expectations are great. they are a positive thing, as they allow you to find someone who is just as nice, if not nicer. or just as funny, if not funnier. therefore you are giving yourself to the kind of people you know you will like; know you will get along with. however, what if these expectations are too specific? i mean, it would be very rare to find someone exactly the same as the one you first loved, if not better. so why should we follow these particular expectations when all they are going to do is gradually beat-up your spirits of hope in finding someone else to love?
do we now not see expectations as a friend, but more, as a foe?
expectation of performance is definitely a huge issue everyone faces. once again, positive things can, and sometimes do, come out of situations suchs as, parents who expect you to do well in school, or coaches who expect you to win at your talent's competition. but the one thing that is so disheartening about these expectations is when they are taken too far. when the expectations are so high and so demanding that the one holding it all, gives in. and crumbles. do we blame the breakdown on the actual expectation, rather than the one who sets it? or is it simply the one who fails, that is to blame? maybe it's their emotional stability. maybe it's just, not up to scratch. having said that though, is that not just an expectation within itself? i mean, who is to say what is expected from one, emotionally?
when it starts to rain, and the little drops of water hit the ground, we all expect them to stay there until the earth beneath us is covered in a thin layer of water. however, what if the heat of the sun still remains in the air, and then the droplets just fade away? our expectations are then, not met. i began to wonder, why is it that we don't blame the rain for not meeting the expectation as it's the suns fault, yet when another person does not meet our expectations, we lay the fault completely and utterly in their hands, regardless of the fact a third party is to blame. so why are the expections we set upon people, more important than the ones we set upon everything else? the constant pressure of society to be the best could be an explaination.