This past Saturday was the highly anticipated Alberta Street Fair.
With having over 150 vendors, live music, fragrant deliciousness, being an “Alberta Street” event, me loving street fairs, and doing so well at my previous street fair, I had high expectations for this one.
Alas, my expectations were not met and business was slow.
Expectations are interesting, I’m currently learning.
It is so easy to be let down by expectations, big or small. And when I am let down, I quickly blame others, whether it be an entire event, a person, an organization. In the past, I was blind to the fact that those were my expectations, created by me, placed on others nonconsensually…and I blamed them when my expectations were not met. That’s weird, right? 
Realizing this has shifted my perspective and in turn, lifted a whole load off of my shoulders. I naturally have high expectations for others, which is projected from having high (and rigid) expectations for myself, being an idealist, and having my head in the clouds, effortlessly spawning big dreams and goals, pushing myself towards new, challenging endeavors.
I am learning that, although I will continue to have these expectations and have high hopes, the key is to understand that those expectations may or may not be met, to not get bogged down when they aren’t met, and most certainly, to not blame others when they are not met. This whole “taking accountability for your own actions”-bit is so amazing and empowering. I could have easily spent the day bitching about how the booths could have been set up closer to one another, how the live music should have been placed ”better”, how the clouds aren’t burning off and “how annoying is that?!” — generally not taking any accountability. In not taking accountability, I would have allowed these other factors to determine how I was going to feel and act. How disempowering and unproductive is that?!
So instead of bitching, I owned it and moved past it. The change in perspective was awesome. I spent the rest of the day joyously interacting with Portland locals, tourists from all over the country, local shop owners and entrepreneurs, parents and children. I mingled with my neighboring vendors — a college student selling Turkish imported jewelry to pay for his tuition, a married couple newly transplanted from West Virginia, selling hand-woven baskets, family members of an authentic creole food cart that has been in business for three generations. I had a wonderful run-in with Lisa of Vancouverture who makes beautiful candle holders and various household furniture from upcycled wine barrels. I first met her at Hip Happening Arts & Crafts Bazaar back in February, when I was just starting to talk about possibly vending. Ha, I’ve come a long way, baby She shared with me so much wisdom about vending/consigning/holiday sales/upcoming fairs/trends in sales… Every time this happens, which is pretty frequently in the uber friendly city of Portland, I feel utterly blessed to have so much support and guidance around me…love it. And just in time for beer o’clock, I was visited by my buddies, housemates and traveling CouchSurfers, who helped me pack my car in record time and drown me in PBR.
So next time your expectations aren’t met, know that you have the power. Don’t give that power away so carelessly. Own it and move past it.
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