STOP EXPECTING FROM OTHER PEOPLE - Part 1

Hazrat Thanvi Rehmat Ullah Elaih suggested a strategy for preventing inter-personal conflicts. If people can follow it three quarters of their conflicts would not arise. Hazrat Thanvi used to say that:

"Stop having expectations from other people. When you stop expecting, you will stop having resentment towards other people, and will stop having conflicts with them."

The way resentments arise is that people have set up certain expectations in their minds from other people. When these are not met, people start feeling resentment. How often do we hear complaints like, he didn't treat me with the respect I deserve, he didn't treat me as well as he should have, he didn't look after me as well as he should have done, I had done him a favour but he never returned my favour, etc etc. These complaints arise because we have set certain expectations in our minds as to how other people should behave towards us. When those expectations are not met, we get upset.

To be continued...

From the talk "Be Like Brothers", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani Damat Barakatahum