Expect the best

When you treat people as if they’re no good, they’ll prove you right almost every time. And when you let people know you expect the very best of them, again they’ll usually prove you right. Expectations make a significant difference in performance and results.

Expectations are often a self-fulfilling prophecy. So it makes sense to expect the very best of others, and of yourself as well.

It is easy to fall into the trap of basing expectations on what has happened in the past. After all, such thinking makes perfect sense. However, such thinking doesn’t take into account the amazing ability of every person alive to change and adapt to changing circumstances. If you base your expectations only on what has happened before, you severely limit your ability to make new progress. The fact is, people can change and people do change, often as a result of challenging and highly positive expectations.

To bring the best out in people you must first expect the best from them. If someone has shown disappointing performance in the past, perhaps it is just because no one has ever expected more of them. When you’re able to raise such a person’s expectations, you can unleash an amazing amount of pent-up productive energy.

Think back to when you were in school. At some point along the way, you probably had a teacher who expected more of you than most of the other teachers. And you probably learned much more from that class than you did in most of your other classes. That teacher expected more from you, and you rose to the challenge. The same dynamic works in athletics. Behind every great team is a great coach. That greatness comes because the coach expects the very best performance from the players, and gets it.

Positive expectations add tremendous value to any relationship. Expect the best. Proceed under the assumption that you’ll get the best, from yourself and others, and you’re well on your way to getting it.