“Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today.” – Seneca
While I agree with the overall sentiment of this popular quote, I do wonder if expectation is always a bad thing. Some level of expectation seems like it could provide motivation to do things today that we may not otherwise choose. For instance, if I have an expectation that hard work and discipline will be beneficial in the long run, I’ll be more inclined to persevere today, even in things that may be difficult. If I anticipate certain behaviors will lead to disaster down the road, I’ll be more likely to avoid them.
The danger seems to appear when we go beyond this and begin to think about the future out of either fear or presumption. Our thoughts today begin to gravitate towards all the things that could go wrong tomorrow, although it’s possible that none of them will ever take place. Or, we become certain of things still in the future, things of which we have no guarantee.
So although living in the future—or in the past, for that matter—can certainly distract us from living life today, it also seems like a few expectations about how the world works could be helpful in deciding how we actually approach life today. Yes, we should hold the future very loosely—but we should also not forget that how we live today will certainly have an impact on what we experience down the road.