Sometimes it seems I've spent my life trying to live up to others' expectations of me, and failing. I never thought much about pleasing myself. That would have been "selfish."
--JoAnn Reed

We can feel burdened, inadequate, and overwhelmed by expectations, even when they are our own. More often, however, the problem originates from outside ourselves. Before we got into the program, we may have been easily caught in the trap of other people's expectations because we didn't know who we really were. Now that we are in recovery, the Fourth Step offers us an opportunity to understand ourselves better, which in turn helps us to set out own goals. No longer must someone else's goals guilt us into action.

Getting to know real freedom from the expectations of others is a two-step process. First we need to see clearly which expectations are ours and which belong to someone else. Then we need to turn to our Higher Power for help in fulfilling our own expectations, and only our own.

Before taking any action today I will pause to make certain I am fulfilling my expectations not someone else's. God will help me with this task.