Expectations

I heard a swimming coach talk today about various competitive swimmers he had coached over the years. His comment was that his swimmers were in some cases limited by his own expectations of them.

He talked specifically of one young person he coached over an eight year period. This person was not built like (did not have the body of) a championship swimmer. Based on that, he was not surprised that this person started races strong (and fast) but finished with no power (and last!)

Through a series of unexpected circumstances, this swimmer had an opportunity for success, and fellow teammates rallied around to encourage, support, cheer this person on. The coach thought secretly that it was nice, but futile.

The swimmer rose to the occasion and far exceeded previous achievements.

The coach noted that his own expectations had been holding back the swimmer's full effort. I wonder how much (how often) we are limited by others' expectations of us.

Even more seriously, I wonder how much we are limited by our own expectations of ourselves.