לרפואת שרה לאה בת רבקה בתוך שח"י
Your satisfaction in life is based upon the following model - what you acheive in relation to what you expect. The larger the gap, the less satisfied you will be.
Case in point: How many people voted for Hillary to be President? Over 62 MILLION.
How many people voted for me [and you]? ZERO.
So she beat me [us] by 62 million votes!!!
A historical landslide.
Yet, the day after the elections she was devastated and I was in very good spirits. Why?
Because she EXPECTED and WANTED to be elected while I didn't expect or have any interest at all in being President. I wouldn't want to live in America and I am super-super-unqualified. Plus learning is so much more geshmack than being involved in filthy politics.
So since her expectations weren't met she was shattered while I, who didn't have any expectations, was completely satisfied with the results [namely - that I wasn't elected].
Take that as a lesson for life. Building up expectations involves dangers of disappointements. The greater the hopes - the greater the disappointments.
The healthy way is to accept whatever happens in life with simcha, knowing that you aren't running the show while the One who is knows EXACTLY what you need to fulfill your mission on earth.
Apply that to your relationships, your children, your professional life, your financial prosperity etc. etc.
To give one example from this weeks parsha. All Yaccov asked for was לחם לאכול ובגד ללבוש. Don't expect to be a billionaire. Be happy that you have a bit of bread and aren't naked. Everything else should be seen as a bonus.
