Expectations Set Perspectives
Your expectations will set the perspective through which you view your environment.
Take, for instance, an audience seated and prepared to hear from a speaker about a serious topic. If a comedian comes out and begins a standup routine, the audience's expectation has fostered a perspective unready to enjoy the comic. As comedian Nathan Bargatze notes, "When you do comedy in front of people not expecting comedy, it sounds like a mean speech."
(From his Netflix Comedy Special Tennesse Kid, Nate Bargatze retells the story of performing for an audience not expecting comedy.)
I'm sure you know the feeling of mentally being primed and "ready" to laugh. Leaning in for the comedic trigger of laughter like a row of dominos all lined up, waiting for the first one to tip, starting the chain reaction. Imagine an audience with the expectation belly laughing at the antics of a comedian, but the speaker is not a comedian. A humorless person saying sober things to an audience whose expectations of laughter have set a perspective of comedy interprets those statements as jokes.
(A 2009 conference for the "American Association of Christian Counselors" asked Theologian John Piper to speak to their 8,000 attendees but mistakenly switched the time slot with a comedian's, without telling the audience.)
In both of these cases, the audiences' expectations constructed a perspective which prevented them from appreciating the experience provided by the speaker. Confirmation bias is real, and in many areas of life, we find what we are looking for.
This understanding of human nature should provide some helpful starting points when we are seeking to alter our perspective on an issue. Suppose I recognize an attitude of complaining in my heart about my job that I wish to turn around. If I expect that my co-workers will be lazy, and my employer will be unfair, I will readily see the instances of those expectations occurring. This informs my perspective of how bad work is, and feeds the attitude of complaining.
I should examine my expectations and ensure that they foster the right perspective, in this case: gratitude. By setting an expectation of positive interactions with my colleagues, I highlight those occurrences and feed into an attitude that focuses on the good and not the negative.
A small tug boat pulling a large ship can quickly alter course, but it takes time and persistence for the lumbering vessel behind to catch up to the new bearing. In the same way, we can quickly alter our expectations for a situation, and allow that to lead our perspective change.
Choices lead, and feelings follow. I think expectations are rooted in decisions while our perspective is closely tied to how we feel. By making a choice to expect the outcome we desire, we shepherd our perspective into alignment with the direction we want to journey towards.
-Andre