Intentions vs. Expectations

Having realistic expectations

An expectation is an idea or thought that you have about an outcome. It prejudges what you want to happen and sets up the future before the action happens. While expectations can have powerful consequences, they can also hinder the manifestation process. They limit the universe’s ability to bring you the experience you desire naturally.

Unrealistic expectations can cause you to feel frustrated and unhappy. They may interfere with your daily life. Having realistic expectations means setting standards and being honest with yourself about what you can and cannot achieve. This will help you explore goals and help you avoid frustration. While it can be challenging to set healthy expectations, they will help you avoid burnout, frustration, and other unpleasant experiences.

Despite their pitfalls, most participants were optimistic about handling the pandemic virus. They expected good medical care and believed they would follow advice to prevent the spread of the pandemic. Most participants also indicated that they were careful in gathering information about the pandemic. As a result, the participants had realistic expectations and positive intentions.

Having a plan

When setting goals and expectations, it’s important to remember that having a plan can make it easier to meet those goals. Without a plan, it’s hard to achieve the results you want. Creating a plan requires a clear understanding of the goal, the allocation of resources, alignment, and action.

Predicting your behavior

A number of studies have demonstrated that self-predictions are biased by intentions, with current intentions getting more weight than predictions. The resulting prediction error is often attributed to an optimistic bias, with current intentions having moderate predictive validity. This results in an overestimation of future behavior.

Research shows that intentions are not a reliable predictor of future behavior. Intentions are not accurate predictors of future behavior and a substantial amount of variation remains unexplained by these predictions. This suggests that individual differences may moderate the relationship between intentions and behaviors.

In the present research, we focus on self-prediction in contexts. We examine how people balance current intentions with existing barriers in order to make an accurate prediction. We also examine self-prediction in situations where people might be more likely to behave in ways that are contrary to their current intentions.

Intentions are important, but so are expectations. A strong positive intention leads to an optimistic self-prediction. Self-predictions of high-probability target behaviors are often biased by optimism. However, a more realistic intention is more likely to lead to an accurate prediction.

Predicting your behavior based on intentions can be helpful when it comes to decision-making. For example, a credit card holder who is overly optimistic may not pay attention to the interest rate on his credit card. Similarly, a workaholic who is too optimistic may make a non-refundable deposit on a vacation. Interventions that teach people to put appropriate weight on current intentions can help people make better decisions with contingent outcomes.