--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: expectation isn't the same as desire" description: "\"expectation isn't the same as desire\" — Margaret Atwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/margaret-atwood-40_desire_expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire-548_548455.jpg" --- # expectation isn't the same as desire ![“expectation isn't the same as desire” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/margaret-atwood-40_desire_expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire-548_548455.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/margaret-atwood-40_desire_expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire-548_548455.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/margaret-atwood-40_desire_expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire-548_548455.jpg) > “expectation isn't the same as desire” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire and expectation differ; one is longing, the other is anticipated outcome. **In simple terms:** Desire ≠ expectation. Key Takeaway Clarify goals. Themes desire expectation psychology Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - relationship goals - career planning - personal aspirations Key Concepts motivation cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What expectations are you holding? - Are your desires realistic? A Different Perspective Expectations can create pressure and disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Expectation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectation/) [Expectation Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectation-isn-3799569/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Isn Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isn-desire-4545489/) ## Related quotes > [Isn’t desire always the same, whether the object is present or absent? Isn’t the object always absent? —This isn’t the same languor: there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/isn-t-desire-always-the-same-whether-the-object-is-present-or-absent/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [The American dream has now morphed into an expectation. And if it isn't provided, or if it doesn't happen, then people feel cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-american-dream-has-now-morphed-into-an-expectation-and-if-it-isn/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Like magic, she felt him getting nearer, felt it like a pull in the pit of her stomach. It felt like hunger but deeper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/like-magic-she-felt-him-getting-nearer-felt-it-like-a-pull-in-the-pit/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [You are only as beautiful as the many beautiful things you do for others without expectation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/you-are-only-as-beautiful-as-the-many-beautiful-things-you-do-for/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [The test of love is that it gives even when there is no expectation of a return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/the-test-of-love-is-that-it-gives-even-when-there-is-no-expectation/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [“My greatest expectation is that I expect more of myself than anyone could expect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-lilly/my-greatest-expectation-is-that-i-expect-more-of-myself-than-anyone/) [Ryan Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-lilly/) > [Living without expectations is hard but, when you can do it, good. Living without hope is harder, and that is bad. You have got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/living-without-expectations-is-hard-but-when-you-can-do-it-good/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Reputation is what people expect us to do next. It's their expectation of the quality and character of the next thing we produce or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/reputation-is-what-people-expect-us-to-do-next-it-s-their-expectation/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Hope is favorable and confident expectation; it's an expectant attitude that something good is going to happen and things will work out, no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/hope-is-favorable-and-confident-expectation-it-s-an-expectant/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [I belong to a society in which people go to collage because they're expected to, not because of a life purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mega/i-belong-to-a-society-in-which-people-go-to-collage-because-they-re/) [Mega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mega/) > [The expectation of an unpleasantness is more terrible than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-bashkirtseff/the-expectation-of-an-unpleasantness-is-more-terrible-than-the-thing/) [Marie Bashkirtseff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-bashkirtseff/) > [We part more easily with what we possess, than with our expectations of what we wish for; because expectation always goes beyond enjoyment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-home-lord-kames/we-part-more-easily-with-what-we-possess-than-with-our-expectations/) [Henry Home, Lord Kames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-home-lord-kames/) > [Any reasonable ruler would have the expectation and the demand the other way round.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/any-reasonable-ruler-would-have-the-expectation-and-the-demand-the/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“Expectation and fact are two different things that people usually cannot differentiate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-suggs/expectation-and-fact-are-two-different-things-that-people-usually/) [Lionel Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-suggs/) > [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/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "expectation isn't the same as desire", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/margaret-atwood-40_desire_expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire-548_548455.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/margaret-atwood-40_desire_expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire-548_548455.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/margaret-atwood-40_desire_expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire-548_548455.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“expectation isn't the same as desire” — Margaret Atwood", "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": "Margaret Atwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "expectation isn't the same as desire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/expectation-isn-t-the-same-as-desire/#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 } } ] } ```