Everyone is subject to the expectations of others.  We also hold expectations of both ourselves and others.  Ideally what we expect of ourselves matches what others expect, although this is not always the case.

While our personal accountability drives what we invest our time and effort in motivation and capabilities play a key role in the type and magnitude of results achieved.

Syncing to External Desires

What others want you to do (i.e., their expectations of you), might not map to your self-expectations but it is very important to know what others want.

This is not necessarily so you can meet the demands of others but rather so you can choose in a reasoned manner how you should respond to these external expectations.  This is about the benefits or associated negative impacts.

Knowing what others seek is key to being able to build your response motivation, regardless of whether it will be supportive or not.  Most critical though is knowing what you want.

Setting Personal Expectations

Mainly the level of performance you desire to achieve is measured by results and these outcomes represent your objectives.  When setting your personal expectations you must first know what you plan to achieve.

This could be a stretch goal and your expectation might be only to make the attempt.  Achieving the goal is not always a certainty but doing everything you can to make it so is fully within your power.

Determination and fortitude underpin the level of success associated with your attempt to perform to the level you desire, this can vary by individual but the more determined you are the more likely you will succeed.