“Life is a race, and if you don’t run faster than others, then you will never be able to win,” A common philosophy that every second child follows, or should I say, is made to be followed.

Nobody really cares about the situation you are dealing with, if you get through, you are a real winner, and if you don’t, you are good for nothing. Have you ever wondered why the world has become so ruthless? Why we go to such lengths to compete with each other? Why can’t just one stay happy in whatever he does and whichever position he holds? The answer to all these queries is an obvious one: EXPECTATIONS!

When a child is born, he is expected to fulfill his parents’ dreams before he even starts dreaming for himself.

A child is sent to school, but he is expected to always come first in class, even before that.

Parents expect their children to secure placements even before their child decides what she wants to pursue in college.

A child gets a job later but is expected to own the company one day.

And in this whole journey from birth to that one day, the child doesn’t remain a child. His wishes and dreams are lost in the never-ending trials that he needs to satisfy his parents’ expectations. And in the end, what one gets to hear is, “You didn’t try hard enough; you could have achieved if you would have tried at least.”

One doubt that never got its way out of my head is – Why do people expect? Is surviving in the world actually that tough, or are these expectations making it tougher? A father expecting his son to be an engineer, I ask the father why he didn’t become one?
Let’s look at things differently; why not do all the things we expect others to do ourselves. Why not? Rather than expecting your son to be on top, the father gets on top. Life isn’t that harsh with us. People make it hard to survive. And more than people, their expectations really do.

Just think for once, if everyone keeps doing what they are expected to do, then life would be so monotonous. There won’t be any individuality, no differences between two people. But then we can also not forget that everyone can’t be on top. There can never be two people holding the first position; one of them has to be in the second position.

Within this trap of expectations, one loses his dreams and passion, which is a big loss. Have you ever wondered how Sachin Tendulkar would have been the ‘Master Blaster’ if his parents would have expected him to be an engineer? How could we get Sania Mirza if her parents expected her to be a doctor? Inspirations like such are many, but one thing that holds us back is those never-ending expectations that started before our birth, and I think, would even continue when one dies.

Undoubtedly, we can not control what people think and expect from us. We can never conquer the thoughts of people. But one thing we can definitely control is how much these people and their expectations affect us. Following your heart would never mean that you don’t respect the norms of your people; it would simply mean your existence is more prominent to you than the norms made by people you don’t even know exist.