Expectations

I watched Oprah today. The episode was about the drop out rate in america. Something caught my attention:

Poorly trained workers and high school dropouts are products of the "cycle of low expectations" in America's public schools, Russlynn says. "Students rise to expectations, and they fall to expectations."

Russlynn Ali is a director of some kinda program that aims to improve the american education system. I find what she said very true. Self motivation aside, if expectations of me are easily within my reach, I tend to merely reach and get it over and done with. This is because by setting a low expectation, you are kinda telling me "Yes, this is enough". That snuffs out the need for growth. If however, expectations are set high, I would always be on the path of learning and growing until I reach that expectation. Of course, to keep growing and learning, the expectations would always have to be renewed once it has been achieved. In this case, expectations have to be met, simply because you will not get to college if you don't meet the expectations.

Things are different in real life. No one is obligated to set an expectation for you. If we have people who are kind enough to nudge us out of our comfort zone to grow, it's a bonus. If we don't, it's normal.

What do I expect from myself? Am I ready to account for what was given to me?