Expectations can quietly run the show—until we notice the resentment, anxiety, or constant mental replays that signal we’re holding on too tightly. In this episode of Your Courageous Life, we name the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive signs of living in expectation mode—and what it’s costing us. When we let go of controlling others or perfect results, we reclaim our power. There’s power in releasing expectations.

When you don't protect your energy, you end up feeling exhausted and depleted. Whether you're trying to get a project/big dream out into the world, heal conflict in a relationship, or convince people of the necessity of social change, it's vitally important to protect your energy.

There’s a story behind this podcast episode: a story that intertwines what we learned about friendships during our formative years, with caring what other people think. The two are connected, and in this podcast episode I share how I spent years carrying around emotional armor and buying into a good-bad binary where people were concerned (one that I had to drop, if I wanted to truly love and be loved).

We all do it—stick with habits, patterns, or choices that aren’t working. But at some point, we have to interrupt the cycle.
It takes real courage to stop doing what isn’t working and say, “This isn’t working—and I’m the one keeping it going.”