The ability to effectively communicate your expectations will help you to avoid getting hurt. It may seem easier to just assume they will make the same choice you would. However, if you have not shared this information with them ahead of time, there is no way for them to read your mind to know what you want. Avoid feeling disappointed by not setting assumed expectations of others and start to plan out time to communicate your expectations upfront.
This has affected us all at some point. You assumed your partner would do the dishes, but it's been a week and they're still in the sink.
Or maybe you assumed your boss would give you a heads up before giving you a big project, but instead they just dropped it in your lap. In situations like these, it's easy to get upset and feel like someone has let you down. But more often than not, the issue isn't that the other person is deliberately trying to disappoint you, it's that they simply don't know what your expectations are.
That's why it's so important to communicate upfront what you are expecting from a person or situation.
If you wait until someone has already let you down to tell them how you feel, it's going to come across as complaining or nagging. But if you communicate your expectations early on, it sets the groundwork for a healthy relationship where both parties know what's expected of them.
So, before taking offense that someone didn’t behave how you thought they would, take a step back and ask yourself if you've been clear about your expectations? If you haven’t, there's no time like the present to start sharing. Assuming only makes both parties look foolish and hurts feelings. Generate quality relationships by taking the time to fully express what you would like from a person upfront to have a happier life!