There’s a certain kind of suffering we willingly sign up for, and it goes by the name of expectation. It starts small—expecting people to understand us without explanation, expecting our plans to unfold exactly as we imagined, expecting life to reward our efforts on time, as if the universe is running a predictable transaction system. But the moment reality deviates from our script, disappointment moves in like an unwelcome guest, settling itself deep in our minds. The irony? We do this to ourselves.

Expectations, by their very nature, create a gap between what is and what we think should be. And in that gap, we find frustration, disillusionment, and a sense of unfairness that life was never supposed to cater to. So, if expectations are a form of self-inflicted suffering, how do we free ourselves from their grip?



1. You Are Entitled to Action, Not OutcomesKrishna tells Arjuna:
“You have the right to work, but never to the fruits of work.” This is not an instruction to be passive. It is an invitation to freedom. We live in a world that conditions us to measure everything in results—success, validation, appreciation. But the moment our happiness becomes dependent on an outcome, we hand over control of our peace to something external. And external things, by nature, are unstable.

What if we worked, loved, and lived with full intensity—but without the anxiety of how it will all turn out? What if we did the right thing, not because it guarantees us something in return, but because it aligns with who we are?

Detachment from results is not a lack of ambition; it is the highest form of intelligence. It allows us to act with clarity, to give our best without fear, and to move through life without being held hostage by expectations that were never promised to us in the first place.



2. Control Is an Illusion, but Choice Is Real

Expectations often come from a need for control. If we anticipate something, we feel prepared. If we plan every detail, we feel safe. But control, as we imagine it, does not exist. No matter how much we try, we cannot control how people will treat us, how situations will unfold, or how life will respond to our efforts. The only thing within our hands is our response.

The Gita does not teach resignation—it teaches responsibility. Krishna does not tell Arjuna to surrender to fate; he tells him to act, but from a place of wisdom rather than attachment. There is power in knowing that while you cannot dictate every event, you can decide the state in which you meet them.



3. Equanimity: The Art of Being Unshaken

One of the most transformative lessons from the Gita is the practice of
Samatvam—a state of equanimity where neither success inflates you nor failure destroys you. It is not indifference, but balance. Imagine a mind so steady that external chaos does not translate into internal suffering. Imagine engaging fully in life while remaining free from the burden of expectation.

That is not an impossible ideal; it is a discipline, cultivated through awareness and practice. The world will not always meet you with kindness. People will not always understand you. Plans will not always succeed. But none of this has the power to break you—unless you give it that power.



4. The End of Expectation Is the Beginning of Joy

The less you expect, the more you experience. The less you grasp, the more life flows. The Gita does not ask us to suppress our desires or give up on dreams—it asks us to move through life with the wisdom to know what is within our hands and what is not. And when we internalize this, disappointment loses its grip.

Because we no longer live in a world of “what should have been.” We live in the reality of
what is. And that is where real joy begins.