The misalignment of expectations and reality can lead to both good and bad surprises.
For example:
Expectation: no one remembers my birthday.
Reality: everyone does remember your birthday
Surprise: a surprise birthday party.
Or
Expectation: the non responses will show up.
Reality: it was easier to simply not respond then to reply they weren’t coming
Surprise: no one shows up.
Before letting our expectations run off with our imagination it’s important to have a reality check to avoid any nasty surprises.
Thomas Duggan 