Stepping out of expectations

In life, sometimes we need to step out of expectations other people have for us. A lot of times the expectations are wholesome and uplifting, but other times they are mean spirited. Sometimes other people think we will fail and they quietly celebrate the failure. They won’t come out and say how happy they are to see you fail, but deep in their spirit they expect it and hope for it.

George Patton was an Army General in WWII and was very revered as a General, but was also a colorful, outspoken guy with a hard driving personality that got him in trouble at times. In 1940, he became the General in charge of the Second Armored Tank Division at Fort Benning, GA. He later moved on to other commands in the US and overseas as WWII continued on.

Fort Benning, GA is located in Columbus, GA and is next door and across the bridge from Phoenix City, AL. In the 1940s, most of the bars and gambling were in Phoenix City. His troops would go on leave for the weekend and go to Phoenix City to do whatever it was they did during off duty time. His troops would come back to base hurt, stabbed and sometimes shot because Phoenix City was a rough place back then. After several weekly calls to the city mayor in Phoenix City trying to get something done to keep his guys safe, he got mad one day. Being George Patton, he fired up the whole tank division and drove over the bridge to Phoenix City and surrounded the courthouse. When the mayor looked out his window at the tanks that surrounded the courthouse, all the blood drained from his face. Patton walked up to the courthouse and told the Mayor that if another one of his men was harmed in Phoenix City, he would bring the tanks back and literally level the city.

None of the soldiers were harmed again after that talk. Ha

Sometimes doing the unexpected is the right thing to do.

I was told that I would never be successful as a hotel broker; there were other brokers that actually laughed at me and how I was dressed because I didn’t have nice clothes, no formal education, and stuttered when I talked. I could have chosen to meet their expectations and slide away into some other line of work, or I could choose to not let their expectations define who I was. I choose the latter of those two options.

Sometimes you have to step out of the expectations of others and make a new path for your life. Don’t let people who are not supportive of you have control in your life and define your self-image and who you become. Most of the success stories you read involve a person with limited resources and limited expectations, yet they went on to do great things.

In summary, do not give the power of influence in your life to people that do not have your best interest in mind. Choose your friends and influences carefully. KT

1 thought on “Stepping out of expectations

Leave a Reply to Judy Sewell Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *