My least favorite word

There's a word we use often, without even realizing it. It's my least favorite word.

All my clients know this already: I have picked a word from the English language and banned it. Ok, not quite that forceful about it, but there was good dramatic effect there, right? :)

Here’s the word: SHOULD.

Now, it seems harmless enough. You probably don’t even pay attention to how many times you use that word.

“I should really go visit my mom.”

“I should make dinner.”

“I should take the kids out.”

“I should clean up a little.”

Here’s the thing about the should word: It is a guilt-inducing word and a SNEAKY word. It seems innocent but it’s dangerous. It just makes you feel bad about yourself. It feels heavy. Like things aren’t a choice. Like you just have these huge burdensome obligations.

Look how different this sounds:

“I’d really like to go visit my mom.”

“I want my kids to have dinner, so I’m going to make dinner.”

“I’d like to take the kids out.”

“It’s be nice to have a clean house, but I’m going to take a little downtime for myself so I can be energized for bedtime.”

There are so many ways to replace SHOULD with lighter, non-guilt-inducing, choice-making words.

So my challenge to you is to notice all the should-statements you make and rephrase them.

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P.S. To re-wire your thinking, and replace non-useful thoughts with productive, useful thoughts schedule a FREE 30-minute session here.

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