When expectations aren’t met, it’s easy to get extremely uncomfortable because on some level you are reminded you are not in control, that things don’t always go your way. You might feel particularly frustrated if you feel like you’ve done nothing wrong, like you’ve kept up your end of the bargain and someone or something–a friend, a family member, a lover, a laptop, even the world–hasn’t met you half way. But Beverly Hills Life Coach Leslie Saul always tells her clients: while you don’t control the outcome of any endeavor, no matter how big or small, you do control your attitude and your reaction to that outcome. You can choose to get stuck on the negatives of the experience, or you can decide to find the humor in the situation and celebrate it joyously and with relish. Selecting the positive option isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but it’s always within your power.

1. DEALING
WITH
EXPECTATIONS
By
Leslie
Jo
Saul,
Beverly
Hills
Life
Coach
December
18,
2013
Not
too
long
ago,
I
made
plans
to
meet
an
old
friend
for
dinner.
It
was
a
cute
Indian
place
in
a
neighborhood
I’m
not
too
familiar
with,
but
I
had
passed
by
it
on
occasion,
and
as
my
friend
(we’ll
call
her
Janet)
is
crazy
about
Indian
food,
I
thought
it
would
be
the
perfect
spot
for
us
to
meet
up
and
reconnect.
We
arranged
to
meet
there
at
5:15
to
avoid
the
dinner
rush,
since
the
place
was
small
and
I’d
heard
it
usually
fills
up
on
weekends
by
6.
Well,
that
afternoon
I
was
waiting
at
home
for
a
delivery
from
a
furniture
store
which
didn’t
come
until
after
the
allotted
time
and
long
story
short,
both
Janet
and
I
were
unavoidably
detained
in
our
own
way
and
neither
of
us
made
it
to
the
restaurant
until
closer
to
5:45,
and
by
that
time
there
wasn’t
going
to
be
an
available
table
for
another
30-­‐40
minutes.
We
were
both
absolutely
starving
by
this
point
and
mutually
decided
a
half
an
hour
just
wouldn’t
do,
so
we
began
to
walk
down
the
street,
looking
for
another
spot.
But
as
I
said,
neither
of
us
really
knew
the
neighborhood
that
well
and
as
it
turned
out,
there
was
not
a
single
appetizing
restaurant
for
block
after
block
after
block.
We
ended
up
walking
about
20
minutes
(almost
the
full
time
we
would
have
had
to
wait
at
the
Indian
place)
without
finding
anything,
getting
progressively
hungrier.
During
this
time,
I
could
feel
myself
start
to
get
very
angry.
Angry
at
the
furniture
store
for
messing
up
my
order,
angry
at
Janet
for
being
late
(which
was
so
like
her),
angry
at
the
restaurant
patrons
for
taking
what
should
have
been
our
table,
angry
at
myself
for
not
sticking
to
the
original
plan
and
waiting
it
out.
In
short,
I
had
had
a
very
clear
picture
of
how
this
night
was
supposed
to
go,
and
here
the
reality
was
not
only
not
matching
up
with
what
I
had
hoped,
it
was
significantly
worse
than
I
could
have
imagined.
Out
of
desperation,
Janet
and
I
settled
on
a
very
generic,
impersonal
sports
bar
and
grill,
which
isn’t
really
either
of
our
scene.
As
we
walked
inside,
it
was
almost
laughable
how
unlikeable
the
place
was–dark,
loud,
sticky
tables,
unappetizing
menu,
an
old
smell
lingering
in
the
air.
In
fact
we
did
laugh.
And
at
that
moment,
I
felt
myself
make
a
switch.
Janet
and
I
began
to
make
jokes
about
how
this
bar
and
grill
was
world
famous,
an
absolute
must-­‐see,
a
mecca
for
A-­‐list
celebrities
and
foreign
leaders.
We
pretended
to
admire
the
kitschy
signs
tacked
to
the
walls
as
though
they
were
works
of
art.
The
joke
grew
over
the
course
of
the
meal,
and
we
spent
over
an
hour
laughing
to
the
point
of
crying,
all
while
sitting
on
wobbly
barstools,
eating
unbelievably
gross
salads.
I
had
worried
that
our
reunion
wouldn’t
go
perfectly,
that
we
wouldn’t
get
along
as
well
as
last
year
when
we
were
closer,
but
the
meal
turned
out
to
be
the
most
fun
we’d
had
together
in
ages.
That’s
the
thing
about
expectations.
When
they
aren’t
met,
it’s
easy
to
get
extremely
uncomfortable
because
on
some
level
you
are
reminded
you
are
not
in
control,
that
things

2. don’t
always
go
your
way.
You
might
feel
particularly
frustrated
if
you
feel
like
you’ve
done
nothing
wrong,
like
you’ve
kept
up
your
end
of
the
bargain
and
someone
or
something–a
friend,
a
family
member,
a
lover,
a
laptop,
even
the
world–hasn’t
met
you
half
way.
But
I
always
tell
my
clients:
while
you
don’t
control
the
outcome
of
any
endeavor,
no
matter
how
big
or
small,
you
do
control
your
attitude
and
your
reaction
to
that
outcome.
You
can
choose
to
get
stuck
on
the
negatives
of
the
experience,
or
you
can
decide
to
find
the
humor
in
the
situation
and
celebrate
it
joyously
and
with
relish.
Selecting
the
positive
option
isn’t
always
the
easiest
thing
to
do,
but
it’s
always
within
your
power.
Leslie
Jo
Saul
is
a
Certified
Master
Neuro-­‐Linguistic
Life
Coach
(MNLP)
and
Clinical
Hypnotherapist
(C.ht).
Leslie
received
her
diploma
in
Healing
and
Success
Arts
and
Sciences
from
Bennett
Stellar
University,
an
internationally
recognized
school
of
Life
Coaching,
with
emphasis
in
relationships
and
certifications
in
the
additional
areas
of
DreamSculpting®,
TimeLine
Regression
&
Trauma
Release,
Hypnosis
Mastery,
and
Communications
and
Life
Mastery.