expectations

I've been thinking about how our expectations determine so many outcomes.  If we expect something to turn out perfect, we will either be disappointed if it doesn't or we will spend much more time then we planned to make it perfect.
Last weekend I finished my mission scrapbook. I got back from my mission 4 years ago and it was the best 1.5 years of my life. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know that God led me there because I met my husband through it.
And my expectation for finishing the scrapbook was simply that- to finish it. I wanted a record of that time. I wanted to go through the box of items I have and scan them in so I could get rid of them. That was accomplished. It will not be a cute scrapbook and the pictures may even be blurry because of their low quality, but it is done. And that is what my expectation was.
The reason it took me 4 years to do it is because it took me that long to be able to change my expectations. Before it was too overwhelming so I avoided it- it was too big of a project to tackle.
I had a time limit- a groupon deal that was "expiring". Not until I finished it and ordered it did I find out they extended the deadline a few more weeks. But that didn't matter because I accomplished my goal according to my expectations. And giving myself a deadline made all the difference.
I'm not saying that lowering your expectations is always a good thing, but sometimes it is necessary.