This is the fifth of seven articles in our continuing series covering the core seven Universal Laws. The focus of this article is the fifth Law – the Law of Expectations.
Law of Expectations
Simply stated, the Law of Expectations tells us that whatever one expects, with confidence, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When one expects with confidence that good things will happen, they usually will. If, on the other hand, one expects a negative outcome to a situation, then the outcome will usually be negative.
Our expectations play a key role in our own outcomes and they also have a remarkable effect on the people around us. What we expect from those around us determines our attitude toward them more than any other factor. In turn, the people around us tend to reflect our attitudes right back at us – whether the expectations and attitudes are positive or negative, good or bad.
Dr. Robert Rosenthal of the University of California – Riverside, has spent more than 40 years studying the idea that one’s expectations for the behavior of another, can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. His years of experimentation show this to be true. In his landmark book, “Pygmalion in the Classroom”, Rosenthal tells of case after case where teachers were told that a student, or sometimes a whole class, was extremely bright and was predicted to make a quantum leap in academic performance in the coming year. Even though the students were randomly chosen from the school population at large, provided the teacher believed that the student or students were exceptional and expected them to excel, the students performed at much higher levels than other students in the same or similar classes, and vastly better than could have been predicted by previous grades or behavior.
The Arbinger Institute (http://www.arbinger.com) has published a terrific book called “Leadership and Self Deception – Getting out of the Box”. While the book focuses on developing superior leadership skills through being true to one’s self, they talk a lot about the way we view others and the way we expect others to act – based on our own internal prejudices. They refer to this as “being inside the box in how we view others.” It is not until we choose to view others as they really are (i.e. human beings with valuable experiences, viewpoints and inputs) that we will be able to connect at a deeper level and achieve higher degrees of understanding and communication. In other words, it is not until our expectations of others change that we can change our own experiences with them.
Take a moment to think about your own expectations – of yourself and those around you. Your expectations exert a powerful influence on people and events, for good or for bad, so be extremely careful!
What You Can Do
There are a few things that you can start doing immediately that will help you to harness the awesome power of the Law of Expectations:
1. Always expect the best! Assume the very best of intentions on the part of those around you. There is no better place to start than home. Tell your spouse and children on a regular basis that you believe in them, that you think they are wonderful, that you love them and that you are proud of them.
2. Practice these same behaviors with your staff and coworkers. The very best managers, entrepreneurs, and salespeople are “high expectations” people.
3. Expect the best of yourself. Focus on your unlimited potential and imagine that you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to. Imagine that your greatest moments lie ahead and that everything that has happened to you up to now has merely been a preparation for the great things that are yet to come.
There is no mystery to achieving success – it is available to all of us. One need only be aware of, understand and, most importantly, live in accordance with Universal Law! Through expecting the best of yourself and others, you can attain the levels of success that you truly want!
By: Tony Davies
Universal Law Series – the Law of Expectation
Immigration Law – What To Do With Our Parents?
Commonly there is an expectation amongst parents of children in close knit families, particularly when a family is of humble means, that the children will grow up, gain a good education and be successful. Taking this one step further those parents of Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents expect to be able to join their children in Australia as permanent residence and eventually as Australian citizens.
Australian Migration Laws however do not allow parents of every Australian permanent resident or every foreign born Australian citizen to migrate to Australia as a permanent resident. There are a number of conditions that the parents have to fulfil or gateways that they successfully have to negotiate to migrate to Australia. Some of the more important ones are discussed below.
Balance of Family Test
The “balance of family” test is defined in Regulation 1.05 of the Australian Migration Regulations. Briefly, to pass this test a parent must have at least half of his or her children permanently residing in Australia (including eligible New Zealand citizens i.e. children with subclass 444 visas) OR they must have the greatest number of children permanently residing in Australia than in any other single overseas country. By way of an example, a parent who has 5 children and 3 of them live in country A and 2 of them live in Australia, that parent would not satisfy the balance of family test. However if the same parent has 1 child in country A, another child in country B and third child in country C and 2 children in Australia, that parent would satisfy the balance of family test. Further if the parent had 3 children in Australia and 2 in other countries then the balance of family test will be satisfied. If the parent had 4 children and 2 were permanently resident in Australia, the balance of family test would be satisfied.
A person is considered the child of a parent if the person is a child, adopted child or stepchild of the parent or of the spouse of the parent. A child can also be the child of a parent if the child is the child of a former spouse of the parent if that child was adopted by the parent before the parent became the former spouse i.e. while the parent was the spouse of the former spouse.
In assessing children for the balance of family test the following children are not to be considered the children of the parent:
- children who have been adopted by another person;
- a child who has been ordered by a Court to be removed from the exclusive custody of the parent;
- children who have been recognised by UNHCR as refugees and are in a refugee camp;
- children who are not able to be reunited in another country with their parents and who are resident in a country where they are subject of persecution and abuse of human rights;
- step children of a person if those children were born after their parent and a step parent separated;
- step children of a person if the children were over 18 years of age and their parent entered into a relationship with the step parent and relationship between the parent and the step parent has ended by death, separation or divorce.
Unless the “balance of family” test is satisfied, there is no flexibility in succeeding in an application for an Australian permanent resident visa on the basis of being a parent of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
By: Frank Egan – LAC Lawyers