I Will Not Should On Myself

In life there are things I need to do. There are also things I want to do. Fortunately for me, oftentimes these are one in the same. Then there's the "shoulds." I should do this, I should do that. I should make that phone call. I should make that visit. I should send that e-mail. I should go here. I should go there. I should, I should, I should.



I don't trust the shoulds. Mostly because I have learned to distinguish a should from a need or a want. Far too often, a should is someone else's voice or someone else's agenda. Far too often, a should is given credence in order to quiet that voice, meet that agenda, or please someone else, oftentimes at the expense of my needs and wants. Shoulds are optional.



That being said, I don't discredit a should when it enters my thoughts. I have learned to pay attention to it, sit with it, and see if it really has the potential to be a need or a want. I ask the Who, Why, and What questions. Who is telling me I should? Why should I? What purpose in life will it serve?

Not too long ago, I made the commitment to myself to only be involved with those people, organizations, and causes that I deeply believe in. All the more reason for me to evaluate a should when it enters my mind. If it let myself, (and I am no different from anyone else) I could spend my weeks, days and hours meeting everyone else's needs and filling everyone else's agenda but my own. I have been there and done that.

I am at a point in my life where my credo is "To thine own self be true." I am also at a point in my life where I trust myself with this credo, because I believe I have my priorities straight and a pretty good idea of what I need and want in order to be who I am and who I want to be.

Therefore, there will be no more shoulding on myself.....because....I shouldn't :)