Releasing Expectations For Self-Compassion

Door Elizabeth Pyjov

Wat je zal leren

“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” ― Bruce Lee Anything you accept becomes your source of strength. Anything you expect becomes a source of weakness. People who have released expectations are very easy to be around. In this class, you'll understand why expectations take away so much of our energy. We will talk about the link between releasing expectations and freedom, spontaneity, and compassion. We'll do meditations for a loved one to release expectations, and you'll get a meditation or two after the class to keep cultivating this beautiful quality. Drawing from neuroscience, philosophy, and spiritual traditions, this course help you take back your energy and open space for endless possibility. Course Objectives: By the end of this course, you will be able to: Understand the emotional and psychological impact of expectations. Recognize how expectations shape perception and behavior. Apply insights from science, spirituality, and mindfulness to daily life. Cultivate inner freedom through meditation. Release expectations of loved ones to deepen connection and presence. Embrace life’s unpredictability with greater openness and acceptance. It will help your inner world become more beautiful and your relationships become more satisfying!

Elizabeth Pyjov

Elizabeth Pyjov, JD MTS is a professor who holds 3 Harvard degrees, speaks 5 languages, has lived in 7 countries, and has taught over 20,000 people to meditate in the last decade. She has a Master's in Buddhism from Harvard Divinity School and studied neuroscience at Stanford Medical School. Elizabeth brings brain science to every meditation...

Les 1

Seeing Through Loving Eyes

This class introduces the foundational idea that anything you accept becomes a source of strength, while expectations drain energy. Expectations distort our perceptions, pulling us away from present reality and into imagined ideals of how things "should" be. The class invites us to view the world through the lens of love and presence.

Les 2

Wisdom Across Disciplines

Following the experiential introduction, this session offers a mosaic of quotes and teachings from figures across disciplines—philosophy, psychology, spirituality—each exploring the cost of holding expectations. These voices build a comprehensive and multifaceted understanding of the theme.

Les 3

The Science Of Expectations

The mind seeks predictability and control. This class explores how fulfilled expectations activate reward systems in the brain, while unmet ones trigger alarm responses. These responses can blind us to new opportunities. Recognizing this wiring can help us consciously release our need for control.

Les 4

Buddhist Perspectives

Drawing from Buddhist teachings, this session reveals how we are burdened by countless small and large expectations that shape our suffering. These distort our ability to accept life as it is. We carry societal blueprints for what a “good life” should look like, often at the cost of appreciating the one we have.

Les 5

Releasing Expectations Of Loved Ones

This class emphasizes how expectations in close relationships block genuine appreciation and connection. Releasing them creates spaciousness for love and clarity. By seeing loved ones as they are—not as we wish them to be—we develop a deeper, more compassionate presence.

Les 6

Expectations As Mental Prisons

Expectations bind us by handing control over to others—both in what we expect of them and in trying to meet what they expect from us. This class encourages reclaiming personal freedom by consciously releasing these obligations.

Les 7

Releasing Expectations Of The World

The final class concludes with a broad spiritual reflection: we grow through challenge, and that includes challenging people. Releasing expectations of the world allows us to meet it—and ourselves—with openness. This acceptance invites the world to meet us in return.

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