--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We tend to live up to our expectations." description: "\"We tend to live up to our expectations.\" — Earl Nightingale" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/earl-nightingale-1728_expectations_we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations-2_2904673.png" --- # We tend to live up to our expectations. ![“We tend to live up to our expectations.” quote by Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/earl-nightingale-1728_expectations_we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations-2_2904673.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/earl-nightingale-1728_expectations_we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations-2_2904673.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/earl-nightingale-1728_expectations_we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations-2_2904673.png) > “We tend to live up to our expectations.” [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often shape their lives according to what they think they can achieve. **In simple terms:** Expectations guide behavior. Key Takeaway Align goals with realistic expectations. Themes self-fulfilling expectations mindset Mood reflective motivational Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - personal relationships - education - health goals Key Concepts psychology goal setting Questions to Reflect On - Do your expectations reflect reality? - How can you adjust expectations without losing ambition? A Different Perspective Overly high expectations can cause disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) ## Related quotes > [I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-tend-to-live-in-the-past-because-most-of-my-life-is-there/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Well, I'm not here to live up to anyone else's expectations-I'm here to live up to mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lin/well-i-m-not-here-to-live-up-to-anyone-else-s-expectations-i-m-here/) [Jeremy Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lin/) > [“we don’t have to live up to the expectations of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-foster/we-don-t-have-to-live-up-to-the-expectations-of-others/) [Melissa Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-foster/) > [You can never live up to everyone's expectations, but you can live up to your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varsha-sharma/you-can-never-live-up-to-everyone-s-expectations-but-you-can-live-up/) [Varsha Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varsha-sharma/) > [I had such high expectations of myself. I was going to be the best mother, the best housewife, the best entertainer, the best nurse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-richards/i-had-such-high-expectations-of-myself-i-was-going-to-be-the-best/) [Ann Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-richards/) > [Everything this series is being built up to be - I think it's going to live up to those expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-hayden/everything-this-series-is-being-built-up-to-be-i-think-it-s-going-to/) [Matthew Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-hayden/) > [“All other things being equal, you will generally live up or down to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dilworth/all-other-things-being-equal-you-will-generally-live-up-or-down-to/) Mark Dilworth > [I can't think of anything worse, really, than to try to live up to someone else's expectations of what you should be. You don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chapman/i-can-t-think-of-anything-worse-really-than-to-try-to-live-up-to/) [Tracy Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chapman/) > [I do my thing and you do yours. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-my-thing-and-you-do-yours-i-am-not-in-this-world-to-live-up-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cannot live with expectations because life has no obligation to fulfill your desires. You can live with an open heart, but you cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/you-cannot-live-with-expectations-because-life-has-no-obligation-to/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Fans always have an opinion of their own. We only try to live up to their expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-akkineni/fans-always-have-an-opinion-of-their-own-we-only-try-to-live-up-to/) [Akhil Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-akkineni/) > [You don't have to live up to anyone's expectations, just be the best you can be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-don-t-have-to-live-up-to-anyone-s-expectations-just-be-the-best/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“I don't like to do what people expect. Why should I live up to their expectations instead of my own?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-don-t-like-to-do-what-people-expect-why-should-i-live-up-to-their/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [I will try to live up to expectations of people; will present report card to people in 2019.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/i-will-try-to-live-up-to-expectations-of-people-will-present-report/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [“I do my thing, and you do your thing. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-perls/i-do-my-thing-and-you-do-your-thing-i-am-not-in-this-world-to-live-up/) Fritz Perls ## More by Earl Nightingale > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Open your ears before you open your mouth, it may surprise your eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/open-your-ears-before-you-open-your-mouth-it-may-surprise-your-eyes/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [People don't have great attitudes because of great success, they have great success largely because of great attitudes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/people-don-t-have-great-attitudes-because-of-great-success-they-have/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Now, success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success - and success is in direct proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/now-success-is-not-the-result-of-making-money-making-money-is-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-more-intensely-we-feel-about-an-idea-or-a-goal-the-more-assuredly/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light.\[so we can see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-all-walk-in-the-dark-and-each-of-us-must-learn-to-turn-on-his-or/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We tend to minimize the things we can do, the goals we can accomplish, and for some equally strange reason we think other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-tend-to-minimize-the-things-we-can-do-the-goals-we-can-accomplish/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [You can predict a person?s future and divine his bank balance if you know two things: the books he reads, the people he associates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/you-can-predict-a-person-s-future-and-divine-his-bank-balance-if-you/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The amount of money we receive will always be in direct ratio to the demand for what we do; our ability to do it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-amount-of-money-we-receive-will-always-be-in-direct-ratio-to-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“And the greatest teacher of them all, the carpenter from the plains of Galilee, gave us the Secret time and time again, "As ye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/and-the-greatest-teacher-of-them-all-the-carpenter-from-the-plains-of/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Do what experts since the dawn of recorded history have told you you must do: pay the price by becoming the person you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/do-what-experts-since-the-dawn-of-recorded-history-have-told-you-you/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [A success is anyone who is doing deliberately a pre-determined job, because that's what he decided to do deliberately. But only one out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/a-success-is-anyone-who-is-doing-deliberately-a-pre-determined-job/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Achievement requires more than a vision - it takes courage, resolve and tenacity. All you have got to do is plant that seed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/achievement-requires-more-than-a-vision-it-takes-courage-resolve-and/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/the-biggest-mistake-that-you-can-make-is-to-believe-that-you-are/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We may avoid the laws of man, but there are greater laws that can't be broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-may-avoid-the-laws-of-man-but-there-are-greater-laws-that-can-t-be/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) [Explore all 213 Earl Nightingale quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) ## More Expectations quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [My mom had very low expectations for me, and she really had a point. I was a big problem at seventeen. If I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/my-mom-had-very-low-expectations-for-me-and-she-really-had-a-point-i/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I say this all the time: I've always been really good at managing my expectations so that I'm not let down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-young/i-say-this-all-the-time-i-ve-always-been-really-good-at-managing-my/) [Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-young/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Keeping up with everybody's expectation is soooo hard!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi/keeping-up-with-everybody-s-expectation-is-soooo-hard/) [Naomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Does your reality match your expectations? If not it's time to change either your expectations or your reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/does-your-reality-match-your-expectations-if-not-it-s-time-to-change/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Jesus' kingdom was not like the popular expectation. He used the phrase 'kingdom of God' with a different meaning. His kingdom was not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-harpur/jesus-kingdom-was-not-like-the-popular-expectation-he-used-the-phrase/) [Tom Harpur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-harpur/) > [Disappointment contains an appointment for doing much better. High expectations mean your higher capacity and belief in abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/disappointment-contains-an-appointment-for-doing-much-better-high/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [It's a good place when all you have is hope and not expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-boyle/it-s-a-good-place-when-all-you-have-is-hope-and-not-expectations/) [Danny Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-boyle/) > [When we give from a place of love, rather than from a place of expectation, more usually comes back to us than we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/when-we-give-from-a-place-of-love-rather-than-from-a-place-of/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Everybody out there watches the show and has expectations of wanting to be an 'Idol', but we're going to teach them how much hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-bice/everybody-out-there-watches-the-show-and-has-expectations-of-wanting/) [Bo Bice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-bice/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) [Browse all 4,210 Expectations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We tend to live up to our expectations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Earl Nightingale" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Expectations" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/earl-nightingale-1728_expectations_we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations-2_2904673.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/earl-nightingale-1728_expectations_we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations-2_2904673.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b20/earl-nightingale-1728_expectations_we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations-2_2904673.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We tend to live up to our expectations.” — Earl Nightingale", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Earl Nightingale", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We tend to live up to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-tend-to-live-up-to-our-expectations/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```