How many times have you expected for your friend or partner to act a certain way, but he or she fails to deliver? I'm sure you've lost count, and so have I. As much as can urge someone to act a certain way (or differently than the norm), old habits die hard. It isn't easy for a messy person to become tidy, a lazy individual to become driven and self-motivated, or a procrastinator to become punctual. I have found that when I expect too much of someone -- when I set that bar a wee bit too high -- they end up disappointing me. If you're like me, you have a tendency to give people second, even third, chances. But as the saying goes: "Fool me once -- shame on you. Fool me twice -- shame on me." When it's close friends and spouses who are the offenders, we continually give them free passes, because, after all, we care about them. So you have to determine the following: Are you being unreasonable in your expectations, or has the person become so accustome...