The Art of Extreme Self-care Chapter 3

Hello and welcome to The Art of Extreme Self-care postpartum style. For those of you who are new to my blog, last December I announced I would be doing a read-a-long of The Art of Extreme Self-care by Cheryl Richardson and sharing with you how I applied the principles of the book in a postpartum setting.  We will focusing on one chapter a month. Last chapter was about mirror. Let's dive into chapter 3.


Overview:
"Let me disappoint you."


What I got out of it:
Living up to other people's expectations has always been one of my downfalls. Most of the time I don't even notice that I'm doing it, until I get so unhappy about a situation and sit down to figure out why. Since becoming a mother, I've been forced to learn to let people down. Those babies sure know how to make you late for events, cancel last minute, change plans, and wreck all kinds of havoc on a mother's life. Babies also provide a easy ticket out to uncomfortable situations.


I love the three tips Cheryl gives when having to decline a request: 1. Take your time before responding. 2. Check in with you gut. 3. Tell the truth with grace and love.

I also liked how she mentions that when you decline don't over-explain yourself. That is one thing I struggle with because I feel I need to justify everything.




Here's a couple of scenarios where I applied the above three tips:


Being invited to a friend's house for dinner, but I'm so tired and would be keeping the baby past her bedtime. My response: "I'd love to spend the evening with you, but today has been an exhausting day and we need to get to bed early. Maybe we can do lunch sometime?"

 When asked if I can volunteer as a judge for a writing contest, something I really enjoy doing, but feel overwhelmed with working fulltime and raising in infant: "You know how much I love contest judging, but right now I've got way too much on my plate. Hit me up next year and best of luck."

Short, simple, and to the point. What about you? Can you think of ways to "disappoint" someone with love and kindness but still being true to yourself? Please share below.