--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My expectations were reduced to zero when…" description: "\"My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.\" — Stephen Hawking" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/stephen-hawking-389_age_my-expectations-were-reduced-to-zero-whe_2313907.jpg" --- # My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21… ![“My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.” quote by Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/stephen-hawking-389_age_my-expectations-were-reduced-to-zero-whe_2313907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/stephen-hawking-389_age_my-expectations-were-reduced-to-zero-whe_2313907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/stephen-hawking-389_age_my-expectations-were-reduced-to-zero-whe_2313907.jpg) > “My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.” [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After early low expectations, everything since has been a pleasant surprise. **In simple terms:** Life exceeded low hopes. Key Takeaway Stay open to unexpected blessings. Themes resilience optimism life expectations Mood hopeful encouraging Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - personal growth - mentoring Key Concepts psychology self‑development Questions to Reflect On - What surprised you most? - How can you reset expectations? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Second guessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-guessing/) ## Related quotes > [When one's expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/when-one-s-expectations-are-reduced-to-zero-one-really-appreciates/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus." \[ The Science of Second-Guessing ( New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-w-hawking/my-expectations-were-reduced-to-zero-when-i-was-21-everything-since-2/) Stephen W. Hawking > [Human beings are 'emotional amoral egoists,' driven above all by emotional self-interest. All of our thoughts, beliefs and motivations are neurochemically mediated, some predetermined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayef-al-rodhan/human-beings-are-emotional-amoral-egoists-driven-above-all-by/) [Nayef Al-Rodhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayef-al-rodhan/) > [In this world, there are two times. There is mechanical time and there is body time. The first is as rigid and metallic as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-this-world-there-are-two-times-there-is-mechanical-time-and-there-2/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [If a person is working toward a predetermined goal and knows where to go, then that person is successful. If a person does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/if-a-person-is-working-toward-a-predetermined-goal-and-knows-where-to/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [It was scary. But it was so liberating. I thought, This is not predetermined - I get to choose. 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Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [“Nothing is predetermined for us, and yet all our possible choices are threads in the vast weave of things, so that we have free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/nothing-is-predetermined-for-us-and-yet-all-our-possible-choices-are/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) ## More by Stephen Hawking > [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [We are the product of quantum fluctuations in the very early universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-are-the-product-of-quantum-fluctuations-in-the-very-early-universe/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The human race does not have a very good record of intelligent behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-does-not-have-a-very-good-record-of-intelligent/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“We have finally found something that doesn’t have a cause, because there was no time for a cause to exist in. 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