Wall Street has changed the way I view the world. And I must admit, for the better. Things that used to bother me or make me sad now make me happy. My previous problem was in not seeing the bright side of almost anything.
Take the weather where I live. It has been hot. Really hot. Today it reached 105. But since the three weather forecasters on local TV stations were predicting 107, the 105 beat expectations and I feel cooler in consequence.
Sometimes I have a few too many before leaving my favorite watering hole. The last thing I remember about one such recent occurrence was another bar patron saying: ‘That bum would be lucky to stagger out of the sack before noon.’ Well, I actually staggered out at 11.45, beating his expectations by a quarter of an hour and thereby relieved of hangover worries.
I have an ex-wife who upon throwing me out opined that I was a total jerk. She seemed surprised (well, actually appalled) when I called the other night and presented three specific, easily verifiable examples in as many years when I did not behave like a jerk. Yes, she slammed down the phone, but having beaten her expectations, I’m certain she’ll call back very soon and beg me for a date.
The simple truth is that I have been experiencing exceeded expectations or actually beating them myself all my life. It’s only a silly, totally outdated habit of viewing things within the contact of objective reality rather than someone else’s incorrect guesses that has been causing me pain all these years.
You, too, might do well to live your life the Wall Street way. Expect little of yourself and others, and watch how often and easily you’ll be surprised on the upside.