It goes like this: You think you want progress, both for yourself and for the world. But most of the time that’s not actually what you want. You want… - Morgan Housel

You want to feel a gap between what you expected and what actually happened. And the expectation side of that equation is not only important, but it’s often more in your control than managing your circumstances.

In fact, the most important part of every plan is planning on your plan not going according to plan. Now, let me show you how this applies to you.

An important thing about this topic is that most great things in life — from love to careers to investing — gain their value from two things: patience and scarcity. Patience to let something grow, and scarcity to admire what it grows into. But what are two of the most common tactics when people pursue something great? Trying to make it faster and bigger. It’s always been a problem, and always will be. Same as ever.

Expecting things to be bad is the best way to be pleasantly surprised when they’re not. Which, ironically, is something to be optimistic about.