Some we are consciously aware of. Many others, we are not. Expectations are always there, however, in the background of our daily experiences. The main reason is that expectations are a common source of stress in our lives. They frequently create all sorts of mischief, including emotional distress, relationship conflicts, communication breakdowns, misunderstandings, distrust, and a wide range of other common problems.
Expectations produce stress in two main ways.
One is that they are frequently untrue or unrealistic. The other is that most of the time, we are completely unaware of them. Individual expectations are not very complicated. It's the fact they are hidden from our view that gives them so much power over us. When we consciously or unconsciously harbor expectations that are much too high, we set ourselves up for failure.