A really bad case of the shoulds

The shoulds. I have them. All. The. Time. I should get out of the house more. I should lose weight. I should be further in my career, education, love life. I should be writing the post I originally wanted to post yesterday. This is not that post. See, even now, I should all over myself. It’s not pretty. And then I realized something one day when talking to my friend Lori, everyone shoulds.  It isn’t just me. And it isn’t just you. I bet you can rattle off at least ten things you either should have done, should be doing or should get to. The word appears innocuous enough. But using the word too much is really not good for us. Like dulce de leche.  It is a simple sweet, but two cans and a roll of cookie dough later, well, you catch my drift. We end up feeling we have less than, well, we should. Should. It signals our defeat the moment it passes our lips.

So here is what I have been attempting to do when I catch a case of the shoulds. (Note, I did not say I should do, that is the first step.) I remind myself of the many moments I have had a case of  haves. I have started walking more and working out. I have driven to a city where I had no job, no contacts and a temporary room in a boarding house and managed to build a wonderful life. I have been able to work in a field I love. And most importantly, for this moment at least, I have just written a post. It might not be the post I originally thought I would write but it is the one I have written. And that should is enough.