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RE: Realistic Expectations - 5/13/2010 12:43:56 AM   
tigreetsa


Posts: 132
Joined: 4/30/2010
From: SW London
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Words are wonderful things and inspire stuff like thoughts, emotions and feelings but people define themselves and their lives through their actions.

Expectations are a bit like alcohol, okay in moderation but if excessive tend to lead to a loss of reality. Relationships come with expectations because we want to be happy, but they also become a source of pain, anger and bitterness when the relationship ends. They can also lead to deception, more so of yourself than of other people.

Relationships provide us with opportunities not only to learn about others but also to learn about ourselves and also to share ourselves and share experiences with other people. This is what living is all about.

As it can take so long to properly get to know someone I don't think there's much difference in the initial stages of a relationship whether you get to know someone online or whether it's out in real time. Obviously relationships are developed best with plenty of real time, face to face contact but I find that the biggest problem with people and relationships is that many expect too much at the very start.

I actually believe that relationships are meant to be short-lived and temporary but tend to become long term when you get to know the other person enough to prefer to stay with them rather than ride the emotional roller coasters of getting into and getting out of relationships and the stress involved or you meet someone who you want to spend much of your life getting to know and being with because life is so much better with them than without them.

But then again you cannot ignore the biggest influence on human relationships which is human stupidity. If it wasn't for stupidity, our own and that of other people, we wouldn't have a clue who to look for and why when it comes to forming new relationships.


_____________________________

'There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I we've been through that
And that is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late.'
All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan)

(in reply to laurell3)
Profile   Post #: 21
RE: Realistic Expectations - 5/13/2010 1:12:04 AM   
allthatjaz


Posts: 2878
Joined: 8/20/2008
Status: offline
I would of first met Steve three days after first talking to him on here but something happened that made that impossible. A canceled date could of been the end of it but he persisted and so two weeks into talking online, we met. I had absolutely no expectations. He sounded fun and adventurous and I was attracted to his looks but I wasn't looking for anything more than a one night stand.
He was flying out to California (with work) for a couple of weeks and the airport just happened to be a few miles away from my house. I was just a convenient stop off place but he never intended it to be anything more than that and he never let me think otherwise, in fact he had distinctly given me the impression via phone, that a long term relationship was out of the question.
When he got back from California, I was his first port of call. I was throwing a party that night and he arrived in the midst of it! We kind of both knew that this was something that neither of us wanted to let go of.

So we started off with absolutely no expectations and grew from there.

_____________________________

S&M (Steve and Maria) persona libre de convencionalismos


Fan of edgeplay.co.uk

(in reply to tigreetsa)
Profile   Post #: 22
RE: Realistic Expectations - 5/13/2010 1:46:37 PM   
DesFIP


Posts: 25191
Joined: 11/25/2007
From: Apple County NY
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: laurell3
Well I agree it's human nature for some, maybe most. I'm pretty cynical and I catch myself doing it. But how do you know when you're doing it and stay realistic, that's the question.


Make two lists. Qualities you know you need in a partner and qualities you know you cannot abide.

Some people are fine with others who blow up quickly and then settle down. I'm not. For me that's a no go.

By writing down the must haves and the deal breakers, you go through the list and say "yes this person has this must have or yes he has these three deal breakers. And then you think about it. If you know that personality trait is something that never works for you, then you know that no matter how wonderful everything else is, it just won't work.


_____________________________

Slave to laundry

Cynical and proud of it!


(in reply to laurell3)
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RE: Realistic Expectations - 5/15/2010 7:01:19 AM   
KnightofMists


Posts: 7149
Joined: 7/29/2005
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quote:

ORIGINAL: laurell3

Thanks KoM. How does one do that though? How do you know when you are even being unrealistic or too cynical?


By the way, I remember when Kyra was moving and how excited everyone was for all of you. I'm very glad it's working out so well, you all have my highest regard.


I can't say this post is about me per se...I tend to be overly cautious and talk to people for a very long time before meeting them, so other than my first few meetings, I have had pretty good radar and met what I expected to meet. Were my hopes high? Sure, but I'm not sure that in an of itself is unrealistic.


Thank you laurell your thoughts of us are appreciated. I think the three of us are an example of managing between the negative and positive of unrealistic expecations. When we first started to develope a connection together we didn't rush into this being a deep meaningful relationship like we have today. We were online acquaintances and nothing more or less. I was aware and said as much to Kyra that we would likely drift apart as she became involved and connected to local people in the lifestyle and/or when the buzz of the high being new to the lifestyle started to loose it's luster. However, Just becuase I suspected the likely possibility was one way. I didn't rule out other possibilities of more. I left the door open in that direction and it's a good think I did. We became more aware of each other and grew stronger in the emotions that developed. In time there was a strong feeling that there could be more, especially when she made the expressed statement she wanted to meet me. But, regardless of my feelings developing, I acknowledged that this could be all rather unreal to myself. I actually didn't expect her to come to visit, but I left the door upon as a possibility. I actually gave her some requirements to do before I would be supportative of her visit. She needed to go out the community and attend some events and with that I thought it likely that the desire to meet would be less. It became more instead and I was ready for that too. She actually sent me the email confirming her flight and well alot of excitement started to develope. But again even with those strong emotions developing, I refused to allow them to decide my actions alone. I even had a long talk with Kyra that some would say was throwing some cold water on these emotions that we were both feeling. It was actually more validating for both of us that these emotions existed but we wanted to be grounded and not get ahead of ourselves. We three are all very practical and don't tend to let the emotions decide our actions. The last two or three weeks before Kyra visited was hell. I began to dwell in the emotions of this font on the screen and voice on a line. But yet, I still didn't allow myself to express any depth of emotion or feelings with regards to Kyra. Even though I stared and the phone more than a few times afterwards thinking about calling her back to say "I Love". When we finally met in the Airport and we held each other that is when we finally expressed our emotions... well I did... Kyra wasn't allowed to speak till I gave her permission. She had to wait about an hour before that permission came. When that time came I asked her what she wanted, why didn't she come here. Her response was "I want to be yours". For the next 10 days we enjoyed each other to the fullest and it was fantastic. But, even with that, I know Kyra left wondering if she was just taken advantage of. Was it all real! I was a couple weeks later when I called Kyra and told her that my flight was booked to be there in about a month and we needed to make plans for how we would spend the time. Everything to meeting her parents to going out to the lifestyle community. We even went out to the beach and spent a late night watching a one flipper turtle laying eggs (this a story all on it's own). Kyra burst into tears when I told her of my pending visit. It was then that she was freed of the reins of her emotions. It was then that she could believe and trust that this relationship as difficult as it was going to be was real for all of us.

I guess to me... being realistic is about being aware of the probabilities and possibilities that can occur. Because even though we came to accept that we are a relationship. We still didn't ignore the difficulties of making our long distance relationship work. Even with those strong emotions we also kept our minds engaged into the process and we do that to this day as well. We know what we want to occur and we work to make it occur. But are ready to accept those curve balls and we have often been able to hit those as well because of our practical awareness of the possibilities before us.

_____________________________

Knight of Mists

An Optimal relationship is achieved when the individuals do what is best for themselves and their relationship.

(in reply to laurell3)
Profile   Post #: 24
RE: Realistic Expectations - 5/15/2010 10:38:53 AM   
laurell3


Posts: 6577
Joined: 5/5/2005
Status: offline
Thanks KoM that's a fantastic story and example of what I was actually trying to say. As always your insight and advice is appreciated. Balancing that new relationship high with the fear of whether the emotions and investment are misplaced isn't an easy thing to do. I'm so happy it worked out well for the three of you.

_____________________________

I cannot be defined by moments in my life, but must be considered for by the entirety of my existence.

When you fail to consider that I am the best judge for what is right for me, all of your opinions become suspect to me.

(in reply to KnightofMists)
Profile   Post #: 25
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