Concrete Expectations

This week I'll be using the Granny Jones Australian Tarot, created by Granny Jones and published by Kangaroo Press. Along with it, I'll be drawing from the Button Oracle, a set I made myself from a collection of buttons. Today's draws are the Nine of Wands and "Spider:"

          I hope that thunderstorm is moving away from Granny, otherwise that metal bucket on her head might provide her with more inspiration that she bargained for. The eight wands stuck into the hillside suggest she's successfully met challenges before, but she still has one more to go before she can tie up loose ends. Spider scuttles over to suggest that detachment might be necessary in order for the outcome to be beneficial. This button immediately made me think of the lojong slogan "Abandon any hope of fruition," which teaches that I should focus on the task at hand instead of being so preoccupied with my expectations. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna constantly tried to impress this upon Arjuna:
The intention behind action is what matters. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do.

You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction.

Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself – without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. 
          I'm an organized, structured sort of person, and part of my planning always involves a vision of what the outcome will look like. Which, if I just had an objective to shoot for, wouldn't be a problem. But what often happens is that my joy and sense of self-worth gets tied into a very specific result. I get selfishly attached to what I want my labors to produce, which sets me up for being miserable if things don't turn out exactly as planned. My focus should be on my actions only; non-attachment will naturally lead to equanimity.