The brain is constantly forecasting what should happen next, and our emotional response is shaped less by reality itself and more by whether reality confirms or violates those predictions. What we label as frustration or impatience is often the result of a prediction error rather than the event itself. When expectations shift, the emotional experience shifts with them, even if nothing in the external situation changes. Looking at this through the Daniel Kahneman lens, this is the interaction between fast, automatic interpretation and slower, more deliberate reframing. I think leaders who learn to manage expectations, rather than fight reality, gain greater emotional regulation and decision clarity.

NB: Daniel Kahneman (1934–2024) was a Nobel Prize-winning psychologist who authored the 2011 bestseller "Thinking, Fast and Slow”.