In “Same as Ever,” Morgan Housel shares how, for the last 150 years, on any given day, the stock market went up only 50% of the time. Yet, over any given year, it rose 68% of the time. And even better, over any 20-year span, growth was seen 100% of the time.
With this, he illustrates that you often experience failure or loss in the short term. But, if you stay in the game long enough, you’ll almost certainly see a gain.
It’s like playing poker when you’ve stacked the deck in your favor. You’ll lose a few hands but eventually come out on top.
Which is also true for growing a business.
As I’ve said before, growing a business is hard. And it’s not for the reasons many people think. It’s not so much about coming up with some brilliant revolutionary idea or having the IQ of Einstein.
99% of the tasks you perform when growing a business are easy – at least, no more difficult than a typical job.
The real challenge is winning the mental game: Dealing with the pressure of making decisions amidst constant uncertainty, staying motivated without a boss breathing down your neck, maintaining focus, and pushing through when things get hard.
If you can win that mental game, chances of success are high.
So, let’s talk about one critical aspect of doing just that, which is managing your expectations.
With this article (and podcast), I aim to convince you that keeping your expectations low is one secret to winning the mental game.
I’m excited about this concept because I believe if you take it seriously, it can…
- Improve your chances of success
- Improve your experience of growing a business
- Improve your results
- Lower your stress levels
- and even make you happier.
Listen to the podcast version of this article here, which includes extra content. Listen right here or on your favorite podcast app!
HS052 – The power of low expectations
First, let’s talk about…
How to ruin your day even when you’re winning.
Many of us start our businesses for more freedom and control so that we can enjoy our lives. However, entrepreneurs often end up with a business that consumes their minds, even in their free time.
They want freedom, and what they end up with is constant stress.
I don’t think that’s the case for everyone, but it’s more common than ever.
Its cause is a combination of several factors. For the sake of this article, I’ll focus on two of them that I see as most relevant.
#1 – Good old human desire
We always want more.
No matter how much we have, we want more. The funny thing is how we fool ourselves.
We think that once we achieve our next goal or acquire a certain amount of money, we will finally be happy and content. Yet, most billionaires are still out hustling for more.
That’s because of a well-known feature of our psychology, the arrival fallacy.
No matter how much we have, the goalpost keeps moving further into the distance.
You may think you’ll be content once your business generates consistent income. Then, when you get there, you realize you’d like to make a little more money and work fewer hours.
Once you accomplish that, you realize you want to take it even further. If this goes on for long enough, and you work hard enough, you may eventually build a multi-million dollar business. And when you get there, you’ll probably want more.
Is this bad?
Not necessarily. It’s just human nature.
That’s when you get hit with constant disappointment, even when you’re doing well.
And that’s where the second factor comes into play…
#2 Social media
Social media is amazingly effective at stoking desire. We see all of these people doing amazing things, and it anchors the expectations for our own lives.
Social Media distorts our perception of reality. Since everyone shares the best of their lives, we constantly see people doing better than us, and we rarely see the struggle that got them there.
This is especially true for entrepreneurs. Hundreds of successful entrepreneurs online make millions per year and live amazing lives (at least, that’s what they show). Then, they tell you that you can do the same. They stoke your desire and anchor your expectations at a super high level.
For example, you may see someone running a multi-million dollar business offering to teach you how to do the same.
They usually make it look easier than it is and imply that you can get results fast, essentially anchoring your expectations much higher than reality.
Sure, with their help, you may get there faster and easier. However, getting there will still take years of struggle, hard work, and failure. In reality, following in their footsteps is ten times harder than it seems, and success is nowhere near guaranteed. Those super successful people have been at this for at least a decade and often started in a better situation than you.
Yet, our minds don’t think through all of this. We see the big houses, fancy cars, nice tans, pretty women, and lots of fun, and we think, “I gotta get some of that.”
Then, since we see so much of it, we feel that NOT having it means we are a failure or that getting it is much easier than it is. Again, this anchors our expectations higher than reality.
It’s the ultimate first-world problem.
Then, these high expectations lead us to think results should and will come faster than is possible for most people. So, we try to do too much too fast, fail to meet these expectations, and still feel terrible even when we are making progress.
High expectations are a mental parasite.
They slowly eat away at your confidence, joy, and willpower.
Results usually take longer than you’d like, whether you are trying to lose weight, build muscle, or grow a business.
The problem is that if your expectations are unrealistic, you’ll think you’re doing something wrong. You’ll be tempted to give up and try a faster and easier way. In your search for gold, you’ll dig 100 shallow holes with nothing to show.
In your search for physical health, you’ll jump from one gimmick to the next as your confidence dwindles.
And it gets worse. Even if you are killing it compared to most people, you won’t feel successful if you don’t meet those high expectations. You’ll burn yourself out striving for an unattainable ideal outcome.
Often, this leads to people giving up before they break through.
Why low expectations are better
Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet’s right-hand man) once said the secret to happiness is lowering your expectations. After doing some deep thinking on the subject, I have to agree.
If you have low expectations, you’ll be willing to work harder for less. As a result, you’ll experience more progress and the positive emotions it generates.
You’ll be delighted with small wins instead of relieved you didn’t fail.
Setbacks (which are inevitable) will be less devastating because you’re expecting them to happen.
Meeting or exceeding your expectations consistently will boost your confidence, fill you with positive emotions, and keep you in the game long enough to win.
The result will be less stress, higher satisfaction, and even more success as your hard work compounds over time.
Be optimistic about the future and realistic about the present.
Let me be clear: I’m not saying that you should be pessimistic. I’m hoping to convince you to be more realistic about your short-term results.
For example, you can build a business that gives you a high income, purpose, and control over your schedule.
You can build muscle, lose weight, and get closer to your ideal body.
You can build stronger and more fulfilling relationships.
Just not immediately (and nowhere fast as you’d hope for).
If you can maintain a realistic perspective in the short term and keep expectations low, you will improve your chances of success.
If anything, this is an argument for being more optimistic because low expectations can be a tool for increasing effectiveness.
Will low expectations limit your success?
One benefit of high expectations is they get you moving. The idea that you can have it all now with little effort is seductive. It can wrap you in its spell and have you do things you wouldn’t otherwise do.
But that is only a short-term win. Getting started doesn’t matter if you don’t see it through long enough to see results. In fact, constantly trying new things and failing can be detrimental to confidence.
So, will low expectations limit success?
Maybe, but only if you are complacent. I’m not saying to be complacent. You can shoot for big goals and have low expectations for the short term.
Work hard, consistently.
Lowering expectations isn’t about throwing up your hands and saying, “screw it.”
It’s about being realistic in the short term and understanding that there is no free lunch. There is no reliable, fast, and easy way to riches. If you want a better life, you have to work for it.
Lowering expectations is about embracing that work is part of life, no matter how well-off you are.
So you gotta work hard.
Here’s how I define hard work. It’s not killing yourself with long hours or doing hard manual labor until your feet and hands ache.
It’s doing the work that moves you toward your goals, even when you don’t want to.
Difficult things include pushing through fear, learning new skills, taking calculated risks, and trying new things. Sometimes hard work is taking a much needed vacation. Sometimes hard work is having a tough conversation with someone. Sometimes hard work is looking at the way you are doing things and realizing you need to make a change.
Working hard consistently allows you to make progress. According to the progress principle, a sense of progress can significantly contribute to your happiness, productivity, and creativity.
Plus, it helps you move toward the things you want (even if you don’t expect them).
Conclusion
Lowering your expectations may sound like pessimism in disguise, but it’s quite the opposite.
It’s about accepting that there is no fast, easy, and risk-free way of solving many problems or achieving big goals, freeing you from worrying about finding one.
It’s also about accepting that life is not easy, regardless of circumstances or your success, so you can appreciate your situation and problems.
It’s about acknowledging that getting ahead in life is hard, otherwise everybody would do it.
So, you might as well settle in, enjoy the process as much as possible, and just get to work.
When you do, you can accomplish amazing things, just not by tomorrow.
Thanks for keeping me focused.