Sometimes the hardest part of what happened isn’t only what happened. It’s the gap between reality and what we expected reality to look like.
“I thought they’d understand.”
“I thought this would work.”
“I thought we’d be further along.”
“I thought they’d react differently.”

Expectations can quietly become invisible agreements with people, relationships, careers, and even life itself.

That doesn’t mean your disappointment isn’t real or that you have to approve of what happened.
It means there may be value in separating the two:
What did you expect to happen?
And what actually happened?

One is the reality you’re working with.
The other may be the version your mind keeps comparing it to.
That difference can change what you see next.