Great expectations are dangerous, disarming and typically met with an underwhelming, humbling experience.

Characters throughout literature have shown the pitfalls of setting hopes on the shoulders of one who cannot possibly have enough strength to carry the burden alone — like Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins.

It’s not that they can’t succeed, because they usually do. The problem is, if we place the burden of something so enormous on one person we forget how we can effect change too.

President Barack Obama and his team seem to be acutely aware of the great expectations placed on top of the man and his administration. Their subsequent actions in the first 100 hours of his presidency are indicative of how they plan on proceeding with the hopes of the nation and the world so firmly placed on Obama’s shoulders.

A bipartisan, straightforward approach that has already reversed many of former President George W. Bush’s policies will be the staple of the new administration. As evident in his meetings with Republican congressional leaders, conversations with foreign dignitaries from the Middle East and members of his administration, Obama has set a tone that indicates he will include more than just himself in the process of turning around the economy and helping the United States into a new era.

The critical indicator of this is Obama’s executive order to begin the process of closing one of America’s most notorious foreign relations problems: Guantanamo Bay. Although the closure will take time, Obama’s order confirms he wants to reestablish the United States as a global power.

But indications are not enough. And neither is a single man’s actions.

Instead of waiting around for Obama’s $825 billion stimulus to pass, Americans can instead make their own changes to their own lives, including spending money wisely and saving money for emergencies.

Obama announced a wage freeze for White House staffers earning more than $100,000 annually in an effort to show solidarity with the American people. A move that, although its impact will be small, is symbolic of how Obama believes the economic crisis should be handled. No longer is the meltdown felt only by those losing jobs, but the problem extends to each individual and his or her family.

Similarly, Americans don’t have to wait to reach out their hands to their neighbors of different cultural, economic or educational backgrounds.

Instead, these burdens — like the One Ring or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named — should in some fashion encourage the rest of us, for our part, to help the chosen one succeed.