How often do you tell yourself, “You should have done that this way, what’s wrong with you?”. “You should have responded this way, why didn’t you?” Sound familiar? Is the negative self-talk happening more often than you realize? “Should” is defined as “a verb used to indicate obligation, duty, or correctness, typically when CRITICIZING someone's actions”. Are you criticizing your own actions with “Should Shackles”? Do you demean yourself because your expectations are not met?
These “Should Shackles” can prevent you from joy, growth, and grace. Who determines these “shoulds” anyways? Evaluate if they take you down the rabbit hole of feeling guilty or unworthy?
My suggestion is to free yourself from the “Should Shackles”!! Give yourself grace and understanding that you are doing your best every day. If we find we have acted or done something different from our expectations, let’s learn and grow, not beat ourselves up for it. Let’s vow to one another to rid ourselves of our “Should Shackles”!