Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Expecting nothing ensures you will not feel let down.
In plain terms
If you do not expect things, you will not be sad when they do not happen.
What can you take from it?
Lower expectations prevent disappointment.

Where it applies

  • personal relationships
  • career goals
  • daily interactions

Putting it to work

  • manage expectations realistically
  • practice emotional detachment

Questions to consider

  • How do your expectations affect your happiness?
  • Is avoiding disappointment worth lowering standards?

Another view

Expecting nothing may lead to passivity or lack of motivation.

More from Jonathan Swift

  1. Faith! he must make his stories shorter or change his comrades once a quarter.

    Permalink to quote #91
  2. Every dog must have his day.

    Permalink to quote #93
  3. In church your grandsire cut his throat; to do the job too long he tarried: he should have had my hearty vote to cut his throat before he married.

    Permalink to quote #90

Related quotes

  1. If you expect nothing, you're apt to be surprised. You'll get it.

    Malcolm ForbesMalcolm Forbes quote #15
  2. A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.

    Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein quote #1
  3. It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both you…

    Tenzin GyatsoTenzin Gyatso quote #2