When someone does not deliver to expectations, there is a perception of failure - even if the results are still quite spectacular. President Obama is in danger of being in this category with many people. I suspect there are some, many in Africa, that do not expect too much! I have done a post about the expectations surrounding President Obama's taking of office on my news blog Obama's biggest burden.

Expectations also make people do things they do not want to or should not do. Peer pressure is meeting expectations from your peers. You are expected to be a good husband - and the expectations of that job can vary from woman to woman - a good worker, a good mother etc etc. These expectations can lead you away from the things that you, as an individual, need to do to be happy.

One of the biggest reason, we are told, for the failure of boys, particularly black West Indian and white working class boys, is that there are low expectations from teachers and parents. Well, I find that I have benefited from the fact that many times in my life, not much was expected from me. I mean what can you expect from a person who left school with 2 O'Levels, educated in Africa and speaks with a funny Southern African mixed Seychellois accent? From that point it is not too hard to beat expectations; the trick is to surpass them by a wide mark where it is important to you to progress to stop being held back. Funny enough, even when you do that, people are still presently surprised when you surpass their new level of expectations. The funny thins is that one there is a low expectation of you, the expectations are always lower than your potential and so you continue to impress. Impressing get you ahead and I have over the years always advised my youngsters (not just my kids) about going the extra mile.

In the search for contentment, therefore, there is a need to manage expectations. Yes, we do have something to do with the expectations of us, the expectation of being a good husband when we decide to get marry is an example. What we must try and do is not raise expectations in areas that we have no intention of performing and we must not raise expectations too high in those areas we do want to perform well in. It just means we will always deliver above expectation and when we feel good about what we have done, when we receive the praise and accolades we feel good, and when we feel good, we are content.

May you find the balance.