65 Side-By-Side Pics Showing How Disappointing Reality Is

Getting your expectations ‘right’ is tougher than it sounds. If your expectations are too unrealistic, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment, no matter how good the results (objectively) are.

On the flip side, if you set your expectations too low, then you won’t be as disappointed when things go wrong, but you’ll end up settling for less than you’re worth.

It’s good and healthy to dream and hope, but you have to balance it all out with a big dollop of realism.

Ideally, you want to be a realistic optimist. That’s someone who is resilient and proactive. You accept the challenges and risks you face while also being confident in your ability to overcome them for the sake of a better, brighter, more positive future. It’s much more practical than being an over-the-top optimist and more enjoyable than being a pure pessimist.

If your expectations are what you think will happen, reality is the truth of what actually occurs. The fact is that these two things often don’t match up, and this can lead to you feeling unhappy, frustrated, angry, or discontent.

According to Verywell Mind, social media can make your expectations more unrealistic than they would otherwise be. That's because you’re bombarded with seemingly ‘perfect,’ filtered, highly curated moments from strangers’ lives. So, you end up comparing some of your worst moments in life with other people’s staged ‘best’ moments.

“It's fine to have hopes - in fact, optimism in the face of challenges or changes can be a good thing. But having a very fixed idea of exactly what should happen or what needs to happen in order for you to be happy can lead to even more disappointment than if you faced the situation with an open mind and the understanding that things might not work out the precise way you wanted,” Hannah Owens, LMSW, explains.

The danger is that, in some situations, we’re so attached to our expectations of what reality should be like that we ignore what’s happening right in front of us.

This can, unfortunately, have negative consequences in our lives. It can prevent us from making decisions or taking actions that would serve our best interests.

Broadly speaking, people are inaccurate when it comes to predicting how they will feel and how (un)happy they will be in various situations.

“This means that our expectations might cause us to think that achieving certain goals will bring joy and contentment, but because these predictions are often wrong, we might pursue the wrong goals.”

One way to stay grounded and realistic and keep our expectations in check is to slow down and focus on gratitude. When you start appreciating what you do have, instead of expecting more or thinking about what you don’t have, you enjoy life more, leading to greater well-being and more happiness.

Moreover, when you keep your expectations more grounded instead of letting them outpace reality, you avoid considerable stress.

Managing your expectations is impossible without first becoming aware of them. Try to think about where your expectations come from and to what extent they line up with objective reality.

Meanwhile, whenever you feel disappointed that things didn’t pan out quite like you wanted them to, think about whether your hopes were realistic in the first place. Then, make a plan on how to set more realistic expectations for the future.

Moreover, you have to consider the fact that you may be vastly overestimating how happy you will be once you have the things you want. No, it’s not ‘wrong’ to want more. But you can enjoy life much more if you savor the things, opportunities, and relationships that you already have.

Meanwhile, actively avoid comparing yourself to others. And don’t repress your disappointment whenever you feel it. It’s healthier to accept your emotions as they arise, even if they’re not always accurate representations of reality.

Which of these expectation vs. reality comparison pics made you laugh or got you fuming the most?

When was the last time that you felt seriously disappointed by something you ordered or made?

How do you manage your expectations so that you stay grounded but hopeful?

We’d love to hear your perspectives! Share them in the comments.