Let's start with a confession. I've been guilty of this one since the beginning of my career. When I first graduated from college, I was appalled to be offered a starting salary of $22K as an entry-level PR account coordinator. I was an A student at Northwestern, and "I deserved better." A few years down the line, I had proven myself at a Fortune 500 software firm and had been promoted into middle management. But I was frustrated because I was often given assignments that no one else wanted. "I deserved better." This past winter, when it came time to sell a new book, I flat out refused several offers that I perceived as too low. I felt like I had already paid my dues writing books for nothing. "I deserved better."

Here's the thing. We don't deserve anything. Working hard means that sometimes we get the results we want, and sometimes we don't. That's just life. You may think that you deserve a higher salary, a heftier price for your product, or a more substantial fee for your service, but the market pays what it pays, and it's usually nothing personal. In a capitalist society, people aren't entitled to success and the compensation we receive isn't always based on parity.

As I've told myself repeatedly, beware of irrational expectations. There's no use complaining about the way things should be and railing against God, the establishment, or your nasty boss. You (and me) will be a lot happier accepting the reality and figuring out a way to move on from there.

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.