You rarely notice how much your expectations edit reality.

Expectation does most of its editing before you are conscious of anything. By the time an impression reaches you, it has already been shaped to fit what you anticipated, which is why two people can honestly report incompatible versions of the same evening.

Before an interaction you feel certain about, write down what you expect to happen. Afterwards, compare it to what actually did. The discrepancy is a rough measure of how much your expectations are doing.