For the past few years I've lived by a personal motto in dealing with other people, and in situations where there is a possibitliy of a bad outcome : expect nothing of people, and have very low expectations. If something good happens you will be happy, if it doesn't then you never got your hopes up to begin with, so there is no let down.

Its worked out okay as well. I haven't been let down very much because of my lack of expectations. However, I've been rethinking this idea...what is the point of the concept of "hope" in my life if I am not hoping and expecting the best? Why shouldn't I become emotionally excited and hope with everything and every kernel of faith...shouldn't we make du'a to Allah with yaqeen that He will respond? This would make not only the moment in which the thing is granted joyous, but rather the entire process would be full of joy and hope and good expectations.

I'm not going to be completely unrealistic...I realize people will still fall short, that is our nature. So when something doesn't live up to all the high expectations, one could suffer the blow with dignity, and grace and gratitude. Learn lessons from it and all that jazz...Isn't that the truer mark of character and of faith, that when things don't work out how we expected them to that we are still firm, thankful, humble, and recognizing it was all in the hands of Allah to begin with...how can we do that if we never had any expectations to begin with?

Isn't there a principle about having high expectations of others, and when they sense it, or outright know it, they will want to live up to those? And why is it that when someone lets us down that we try to justify it away with...meh, he's just a person, what did you expect? Humanity, civility, decency, fear of Allah... are we making the absense of these qualities the social norm? If you are unloyal, lie, cheat, backbite, gossip, letting people down and hurting them willy nilly, that that is just your nature...? I guess there is more to this than what Im writing here...the extremely high expectations have a negative effect, and that in Islam of course we're told about social morals, but how society has applied them or rather ignored them is what is under scrutiny here.

Last question...
Is it as bad to be dissapointing others (through social immorality) as it is to not have any expectations of others at all (because we create a social norm where it is acceptable to be a jerk)?

I'm still thinking about all this, and my personal motto is under serious reconsideration... for now though, I am going to hope with all hope, and pray with all my faith, for the things which are good in my life and I will expect that Allah will grant me the best, and no less.