What Do You Expect?

Categories: Blog Nov 30, 2014

 

[caption id="attachment_2330" align="alignnone" width="350"] If you bait your hook, you should expect to catch a fish.[/caption]

Have you ever wondered why you do the things you do? Most of the time, the things we do, or engage in, are guided by a certain expectation. We participate in things because we expect some type of return from our actions.

For example, if we were to go fishing. We would bait our hook. In turn, we would expect to catch a fish once we cast our line into the water. After all, who in their right mind, would bait a hook and not expect to catch a fish? Why would anyone do that. The action of baiting a hook is guided by the hope, or expectation, of catching a fish. A desired reward is expected from the action.

Well, I said, "who in their right mind would bait a hook and not expect to catch a fish?" In our "right minds" we do believe that our actions will result in an outcome; preferably, our desired outcome. I would like to pose to you though, that many of us are no longer operating in our "right minds."

Today, it probably wouldn't be unusual for someone to bait a hook with absolutely no expectation of catching a fish. Think about it. Many people pray or offer prayers without any hope that they will be answered. Why? Why would anyone ask for anything without the expectation that they would receive what they are needing?

We do the same thing when we "exercise". Many people engage in exercise only because they believe it is something they should do. Yet, they have no expectation that it will result in the outcome they desire. They simply go through the motions and receive everything they are expecting: nothing.

We have all witnessed people who go to health clubs day in and day out and yet the only noticeable change they experience is that they get older. Admittedly, it is great that they "know" they should move and that they are showing up to exercise. Surely that is indeed better than doing nothing at all. However, they have no expectation to accompany their actions. Their actions are mindless, or "hopeless". They do not anticipate to catch their fish. They are just going through the motions.

This may be the reason why so many people fail at "diets" or at making lifestyle changes. They have no real expectation, or their expectation is not big enough, to cement their actions into a lifestyle. Yes, the above daily exerciser has learned a habit, but it is a habit without hope. And yes the "dieter", or the would-be "good" habit builder, fails at daily engagement, but the root is the same. Their expectation is really non-existent. They, too, have no real hope of success.

We can be trapped in mindless rituals because of lack of expectation and we can constantly fall short in our ability to stick to a plan because of lack of expectation. To say it another way, we either fish without hope, or we don't fish because we have no hope. Either way, there is no hope.
I believe this is one of the reasons why Original Strength is such a powerful movement restoration system (Truthfully, I believe OS is a restoration system - not just a movement restoration system). OS builds hope: The hope of feeling better, being stronger, getting out of pain, and the hope of healing. This hope fosters the expectation that simple movements can make a difference, that rocking can help a back heal and become strong again. This hope builds the knowledge that crawling around like a child actually can tie your body together. Original Strength can give a person hope. This hope may start out small, but it grows like a flame and spreads throughout other thought processes, thus raising a person's expectations, and putting them back into their "right minds".

We should all expect a return from our actions. We should all expect to be strong because we are moving the way we were designed. We should all expect to catch a fish if we are going to bait our hook. We should all expect that if we ask for something, we should receive it. We should always be filled with hopeful expectation. Without hopeful expectation, we cannot be in our "right minds."

What are you expecting? Why do you do the things you do? Are you confident of a positive outcome from your actions and your thoughts? Or, are you just on auto-pilot (auto-destruct)?

Be expectant. Be hopeful.

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