Set The Right Expectation And Prosper. Lower It And Accept Mediocrity

On our home page we wrote that there will be pages on our website that some people might not like. This will be one of those posts. If honesty is the best policy, then it is incumbent upon us to set the right expectation in every part of our lives. We also wrote that looking in the mirror to make sure we start from within is always the first step.

On a website centering on accountability, both personal and as American citizens, where we set the bar on personal and national accountability is the best indicator of our true character. That true character shows itself, best or worst in challenging situations. Setting high expectations is a natural step in lining up with many of the previous posts about being accountable, found in our page directory.

"Character is not made in crisis, it is only revealed." Attributed to various authors.

Set The Right Expectation For The Highest Moral Standards

There are several studies about workplace expectations. They have similar conclusions. In the workplace, 50% of the time, clear, effective expectations are never set. The results are predictable. They are predictable in companies, families, organizations, and nations.

Low expectations or poorly conveyed expectations always open the door to us seeking and then finding our own level of expectations and usually that level is the path of least resistance. The outcome is wasted human potential.

The ugly truth is that our collective failure to set the right expectation is the cause of much of the trouble spots in our nation. We fail to set the right expectations for ourselves and we allow this downward spiral of personal responsibility to drive us ever lower in terms or productivity, accountability, and strong moral identities.

At the end of this page, I'll share a short essay about this subject. It was written years ago, and as with all timeless writing, is still relevant today.

You read in our page about servant leadership that I grew up in a self-employed family. I can tell you from experience that a loss of $900 would be a big hit. It takes a long time to make that up. People who have never been self-employed might not recognize this fact.

Yet in some of our cities we have prosecutors deciding they will not prosecute thieves who steal less than $1000, citing it as a "poverty crime." Are they deciding these thieves are not capable of living up to higher expectations and therefore get a free pass on personal accountability? The lure of the path of least resistance is very strong.

Maybe these elected officials should step out of their heavily guarded, state-supplied vehicles and ask the business owner trying to make a living how this affects them?

We must set the right expectation for every citizen. That doesn't mean in any way that we disregard the marginalized people in our population. If you've read any of our pages, you know where we stand and where we act to lift people out of difficult situations.

More ugly truth is that by holding some segments of our fellow citizens to lower standards, we are actually disrespecting them and their ability to measure up to higher levels of accountability. This is unfair to them because too often, the cycle repeats in successive generations. And it is unfair to our nation because it is a waste of human potential.

Allowing the elitists in government the opportunity to "take care of them" will hold them in a system of victimhood. People need clarity, definition of purpose, and something to work toward, not a perpetual government handout in exchange for bartered voting patterns.   

Reality vs Expectation

You can read in internet searches that we should lower expectations so we aren't disappointed by reality. That is a load of crap. The reality is that we will be disappointed by the results of low expectations. If we expect less, that is the outcome we will receive.

We set the right expectation when we are clear in our message. Like the old example teaches us, our "right" to swing a closed fist ends just before it hits someone's jaw. We expect our population to be law abiding citizens. If not, there will be consequences. Every time. If a law is unjust, we have the right to peacefully protest that law, but not to cause harm.

We expect every innocent human to be protected from violence. We don't make a lesser level of expectation of protection based on age, gender, race, location, the biological father, or the health needs of a fellow American.

The reality is certain. We will get the results of the level of expectation we place on our nation. If we settle for less, we will surely get less. If we set the right expectation and hold the line on accountability, we will grow exponentially as a nation of vision, a safe haven for innocent humans, and a beacon of hope for the world.

It's all about what we are willing to accept and the level of expectation we place on ourselves and our country.

"For years I have heard on television and read in newspapers that a poor person who could not find a job was, if not expected to turn to crime, at least excused for doing so. Unfortunately, the more this idea is promoted, the more likely it is to occur, especially among those who do not have a strong character base.

The facts concerning this issue are interesting, and as a friend of mine was inclined to say, 'Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but no one is entitled to the wrong facts.'

I was raised during the Great Depression, so I was familiar with the occasional knock at the back door by someone asking for something to eat in exchange for some work they could do around the house or garden. Interestingly enough, virtually no one asked for free food-they wanted to work for it instead...

The reality is people do what they are taught and expected to do. If we eliminate the concept that poverty breeds crime and carefully teach that the right way is the best way, we will see further reductions in crime. In many cases an economic belt-tightening is a character-building experience that helps us learn to get along without so many so-called 'necessities of life' so we emerge from economic challenges stronger and better prepared to build a more successful future."  

Zig Ziglar

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