I am the type of person who always gets very excited about . I see a preview for a new movie, and I often say "that's going to be the best movie ever" or "I can't wait to see that movie". Now, it's not that I necessarily think that it is ACTUALLY going to be the best movie ever, but the point is that I am always "building things up" as my friends tell me.

Being this type of person, I am always baffled when people say, "don't go building it up." It is as if there is an almost universal fear of being "let down." I can see that if you are constantly building things up to an impossible degree, this would cause problems, as the world may never meet your high expectations. However, I also think many people take it too far in the opposite direction...never getting excited about anything for fear that they will "just be disappointed yet again."

This leads me to the point of this post. If it is true that what we focus on expands (I certainly believe this to be true) then we've got to learn to focus on what we want. In my case, let's say I see a preview and I say "that movie is going to be awesome." Yes, I am certainly building it up. However, when I actually go see the movie, even if it really isn't very good, I will probably have enjoyed myself more than the person with a neutral or negative view, simply because I chose to focus on the movie being awesome.

It's as if people think that we're supposed to take a pessimistic view in life, but why? To "protect" ourselves from "being let down?" Isn't it better to expect the best, and maybe sometimes get a little less, than to not expect anything (or expect the worst) and maybe sometimes get a little more? I think the key point that people miss here is that they are actually creating their own reality with their thoughts. The person who is expecting the best acts much differently from the person who is expecting the worst. The things they say, the things they filter out of their experience (their senses), are all different because of how they are thinking. And thus they end up attracting more of what their thinking into their lives, specifically mediocrity in this case.

Tied in with this thought is the perception that "we" or the "I" can actually get hurt by being "let down." I personally don't see how something not meeting your expectations hurts you in any way. You choose whether or not you are disappointed. You choose whether or not a external situation has any effect over you at all. Personally I feel that the "I" otherwise know as the ego isn't really me at all...that the real "I" sits behind the ego...the silent observer...the one we find when we meditate...but maybe I am getting a bit off topic. Basically, I just don't feel that "I" can be hurt, by anything anyone else does to me, or any situation that may arise.

So I say, expect the best, get your hopes up, and worst case scenerio, if things don't work out exactly as you thought they would, well at least you had a good time in the process. I think that if you adopt this attitude you will find that a higher percentage of things in your life do work out, and do meet your higher standards. We've got absolutely nothing to lose.