I’m reading the Bhagavad Gita. I haven’t read this since college. That’s a long time ago.
The Gita is around a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. I won’t go into the details.
Near the beginning Lord Krishna talks about the importance of action without setting expectations around the outcome. Let go of expectations. When I first read this many years ago, I thought this seemed a bit empty. No expectations? But the more I read it the more it releases one from trying to control the unknown.
Trying to control the uncontrollable is like making a ball with dry sand. It’s fruitless.
Most things don’t live up to your expectations. You learn this with age. It’s painful. Over time I realized this is what makes life interesting. I thought I’d be be worth tens of millions of dollars by age 30. That didn’t happen. That hasn’t happened by 40 either.
Or growing up I always wanted certain girls to like me. That usually didn’t work out to well for me. That often blinded me from all the other opportunities. Letting go opens my eyes.
So many things happen in life. Setting hard clear expectations around vague goals just sets you for pain.
You can set up goals for things that are more concrete like a revenue goal (assuming you have enough data to estimate) or calling a friend each day. But saying that when I start this company it’s going to sell in 4 years for $40 million is a recipe for stress and burnout.
You have to set these revenue goals when you start a company. You have to lovingly push yourself to make them happen. But let go of the expectation that it will happen. It might not. It probably won’t. Even your investors know that.
Let go of expectations. Breathe with those expectations feel them drift away over and over again. When you do that the world breathes sigh of relief with you. And often more opportunities come to you. Let go and the world wants to work with you. Push and stress and the world pushes back.
So yeah, Let go.