Episode 1092: Expectations, Are They Ever Justified?

Episode 1092: Expectations, Are They Ever Justified?

How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober? On Take 12 Recovery Radio, Monty Dale Meyer (the Monty’man) teams up with co-hosts Dion Miller and Roger Mcdermott to chew over a deceptively simple question: “Expectations, are they ever justified?” What follows is a fast-moving mix of recovery wisdom, Scripture, Big Book reading, and a lot of belly laughs.

You’ll hear the Big Book passage on resentment from pages 64–67 of Alcoholics Anonymous, with “alcoholic” swapped out for “people” to underline that these patterns hit everyone, not just those with a drinking problem. Monty sums up a central theme with, “It's not expectations that's the number one offender.

It's the resentment that we build depending on how we respond to the expectation.” Between serious points, the trio riff on everyday irritations: chatty baristas, loyalty schemes at the till, and dirty dishes that mysteriously never reach the dishwasher. These seemingly silly examples become practical case studies: is it okay to be annoyed? For how long? And what do you actually do with that feeling so it doesn’t poison your day or your sobriety?

Dion shares ideas like putting a time limit on anger and aiming for “80%” when other people don’t meet his standards. Roger talks about having an “inner and outer voice” so he can smile and say “Thank you for sharing that” while choosing not to act on his first angry impulse. They tie this into 2 Corinthians 10:5 and the idea of “taking thoughts captive” before they turn into full-blown resentments.

Light-hearted segments like the “weekly wine”, a playful mug giveaway triggered by the “I steal cheese, you can't catch me” soundbite, and recovery music keep things from ever feeling heavy or preachy. If expectations and resentments are tripping you up in recovery—or in life—could laughing at yourself be part of the solution?