Another Reason You May Be Juggling Elephants

On a calendar in a doctor's office I saw the following quote:

The root of being uptight is our unwillingness to accept life

as being different, in any way, from our expectations.

I found it quite profound because it describes so clearly another reason some of us become so overwhelmed with life-our expectations and reality are not in sync. We just feel like if we make that extra "super human" effort we will finally achieve _________________ (you fill in the blank.) Rarely do things work out that way.

Does this mean we shouldn't give our best effort and expect the best from others? Does this mean we should settle for mediocrity in our own pursuits and accept less than others? Of course not. What it does mean is that we need to allow for mistakes from ourselves and others. We need to realize that everything may not work out the way we planned-but it worked out better than if no plan at all was in place. Ultimately, what's the purpose of your circus-to have such lofty expectations of yourself and others that you always feel like a failure-or to see yourself (and others) as a work in progress?