Feynman argues that a person is not automatically obliged to satisfy the expectations others place upon them. Other people may form ideas about what someone should achieve, how they should behave or what kind of person they should become, but those expectations do not necessarily create a personal duty to fulfil them.

The quotation draws a distinction between responsibility for one’s own choices and responsibility for other people’s assumptions. Feynman suggests that disappointment caused by an unrealistic expectation belongs partly to the person who formed it, rather than proving a failure in the person being judged. The remark therefore concerns independence, self-definition and the limits of social pressure. It does not imply that obligations to others never matter; rather, it challenges the idea that reputation or expectation alone should determine a person’s goals. It can be applied when distinguishing genuine responsibilities from demands based mainly on other people’s projections.