Realistic Expectations Quotes

“There's one thing you may be sure of, Pip," said Joe, after some rumination, "namely, that lies is lies. Howsever they come, they didn't ought to come, and they come from the father of lies, and work round to the same. Don't you tell no more of 'em, Pip. That ain't the way to get out of being common, old chap. And as to being common, I don't make it out at all clear. You are oncommon in some things. You're oncommon small. Likewise you're a oncommon scholar."

"No, I am ignorant and backward, Joe."

"Why, see what a letter you wrote last night! Wrote in print even! I've seen letters––Ah! and from gentlefolks!––that I'll swear weren't wrote in print," said Joe.

"I have learnt next to nothing, Joe. You think much of me. It's only that."

"Well, Pip," said Joe, "be it so or be it son't, you must be a common scholar afore you can be a oncommon one, I should hope!”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

“It wasn't so much that Lola Plum believed she'd learned her lesson in love. Lola Plum was just realistic about life.”
― Shannon Noelle Long, Second Coming

“Novices who are thoroughly incompetent rate themselves as very confident in their ability to do a thing they’ve just learned to do. By contrast, genuine experts know how difficult their work is, so they are realistic about their competence and thus rate their confidence in their own abilities as moderate, even as their performance is, of course, expert-level.”
― Emily Nagoski, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

“Birthday Wisdom...
The Pessimist says, "Oh no, another year, another wrinkle"
The Optimist says, "Bring on the wisdom of the Eighties"
The Realist says, "I can make this day as HAPPY as I choose!”
― Margo Vader, Take A Little Soul Time

“Having unrealistic dreams is a very good thing. Your commitment won't be like that of a person with realistic dreams.”
― Geoffrey Ocaya

“No wise forward look can ignore the possibility of many sorrows and the certainty of some. Hope has ever something of dread in her eyes. The road will not be always bright and smooth, but will sometimes plunge down into grim cations, where no sunbeams reach. But even that anticipation may be calm. "Thou art with me" is enough. He who guides into the gorge will guide through it. It is not a cul de sac, shut in with precipices, at the far end; but it opens out on shining tablelands, where there is greener pasture.”
― Alexander MacLaren

“How we present ourselves at any given time is dependent on the situation. We constantly balance the tension of high aspirations with the pragmatism of realistic expectations. The key is to represent ourselves in such a way that we can fulfill the expectations we create.”
― Marian Deegan, Relevance: Matter More

“At some point you have to take what the world gives you, even if the world is not enough.”
― John A. Kelly Jr.

“Because it is so hard, in any life, to believe in what you can't fully understand.”
― Sarah Dessen, Keeping the Moon

“I ended up as the assistant to the CEO at an Internet start-up called SenseNet on Hudson Street. I had no interest in the Internet, or venture capital, or really anything I was doing, but the people were nice and I could wear whatever I wanted to work and it was within walking distance of our apartment. Sometimes, for a little while, that's enough.”
― Alyssa Mastromonaco, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House

“Unfortunately, we live in an instant Jell-O society, with everybody wanting microwaved success. So as you look at truth therapy to combat the lies you tell yourself, don't go overboard with your expectations.

Remember to lighten up and put your party hat on every now and then. Celebrate the little steps . . . as well as the significant milestones.”
― Kevin Leman, What Your Childhood Memories Say about You . . . and What You Can Do about It

“If you expect disappointment, you won’t be disappointed.”
― Oli Anderson, Shadow Life: Freedom from Bullshit in an Unreal World

“It's like what Charles Duhigg was saying in The Power of Habit about advertising, you have to create a craving for the reward. This takes time and doing so is more productive than posting every day and having unrealistic expectations of your followers. Essentially, people expect others to treat them a certain way but are ironically ignorant to how impractical and uninspired they would be if they had to fulfill that same expectation for someone else.”
― Dexter A. Daniels, Consistent, Not Different: Why We Stray from the Path and Reasons to Return

“Striving for perfection is not a realistic outcome. Striving for excellence will allow you to achieve a series of victories, but a level up attitude is required. ”
― Germany Kent