Reclaiming the Present Moment

Most of us are walking around with a backpack full of expectations — of who we should be, how we should show up, and what we should be doing.

They sound like:

  • “I should be more productive by now.”

  • “I need to have it all figured out.”

  • “If I just do more, I’ll finally feel okay.”

And maybe the most exhausting one of all:
“If I don’t come through, something bad will happen.”

These aren’t dreams or goals. These are internalized rules built from years of unmet needs, unspoken pressure, and survival-based coping strategies.

Where Do These Internal Expectations Come From?

You may have learned to expect things from yourself as a way to avoid punishment, disapproval, or chaos.

You became the one who “held it all together.”
You had to—because no one else would.

And while that hyper-responsibility helped you back then, it’s no longer serving the life you want to live now.

When internal expectations drive your every move, you start:

  • Holding yourself to impossible standards

  • Overworking, over-giving, over-fixing

  • Living from pressure, not presence

The Shift: From Expectation to Intention

Here’s the core difference:

EXPECTATION

INTENTION

Based on past survival or future fear

Rooted in present-time awareness

Often rigid and perfectionistic

Fluid and responsive

Feels obligatory

Feels aligned

Driven by fear of failure

Driven by desire to show up fully

Expectation says: “You have to.”     Intention says: “You get to.”

Letting Go of the Internal “Shoulds”

Here’s a quick practice to help you reconnect:

  1. Pause.

  2. Ask: What am I expecting of myself right now?

  3. Then ask: What do I actually want in this moment?

  4. Feel the difference between pressure and presence.

This isn’t laziness.
It’s liberation.

You don’t have to earn your worth through productivity.
You don’t have to push through panic to prove your value.
You’re already enough — even before the to-do list gets done.

Say this to yourself:

“Today, I choose intention over expectation.
Today, I trust myself to show up with presence, not performance.”

And then… take the next step from there.

Are You Ready to Release the Pressure?