Be Aware of Your Expectations

My self care pointer today is to be aware of your expectations in life. 

Brené Brown says “Expectations are resentments waiting to happen”.  

When you are able to let go of expectations, there is no more room for disappointment. You are free to enjoy life and the experiences of each moment for what they are instead of what you think they should be, or should have been.

If you are expecting something from another person in your life I encourage you to ask for what you would like. However, DO NOT expect them to agree, to fulfill your every wish just because you ask. They have the right to say no. Therefore, your job is to manage your expectations and subsequent emotional response surrounding the request.

If someone does agree to something you have asked, clearly communicate and agree on what the experience will look like. We may have expectations for others to do things a certain way and if we do not clearly communicate what it is that we want and need and they do not clearly communicate back to us that they agree or do not agree to provide what we expect; we can end up feeling resentful and angry towards the person for disappointing us. They end up feeling bad for disappointing us, and we end up in this relationship chaos that could have been avoided if we would have just taken the time to clearly communicate, what it is that we needed and what they were willing to provide. This is a two-way management of expectations.

The first step is just becoming more aware of your expectations - both the unspoken and the spoken.

Today and every day, be aware of expectations, of life, of yourself and of others.

Enjoy the moments!