Thou Shalt Not Should Thyself!

[MajestyJo]

Friday, January 31, 2014

You are reading from the book Today's Gift

Thou shalt not should thyself.
—-Anonymous

When someone tells us we should do something, do we want to do it, or do we feel mad that someone else is telling us what we want to do? Sometimes we forget that these messages are not our own, but are the desires of others. It's important to listen to what we tell ourselves, to be aware of which messages we're giving ourselves and which come from others. We can make a list of all our shoulds and identify where they came from: parent, boss, friend, self. Then we can decide which shoulds are want to's, and throw out the rest. Doing what we want to is very different from doing what we should, and we can usually do a better job of it.

Have I freed myself of shoulds today?

Can still find myself there. The only difference in today is that I recognize it for what it is and I can make the decision to pick up the tools of recovery and get out of that space. It is no fun shoulding all over the place.