A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with my sisters. One was talking about how she really wants to go to this gym that she loves and worked really well for her in the past. At this time, it was out of her budget and so she kept telling herself, “I really should just go to (the less expensive, not as much fun or motivating gym).”
During the course of the conversation, she said the “Should” statement a few times and I’ll tell ya, I hear sentences like that from people I work with all the time.
It’s the syndrome of “shoulds”. We judge ourselves and try to get ourselves to be somewhere we aren’t and “should” all over our self!
We’re left feeling guilty and judged and that what we’re doing is not enough. Sometimes shoulding syndrome can lead to comparison syndrome and that’s really no good!
The language we use is super powerful and if you’re willing to work on it, you can change the story that you’re telling yourself if it’s not serving you.
Notice, none of our shoulds get done. But our MUSTS always take priority and get done.
If your shoulds are REALLY important to you and you truly believe that you should be working out, meal prepping, eating salads daily, increasing veggies, the list goes on, then turn your shoulds into musts.
So what if the next time you start shoulding yourself, you asked yourself this;
Is this REALLY important to me? In other words, do you want this?
Is this something I MUST do because it’s what’s best for me?
And, if it can’t look exactly how I want it to, how else can it look so it can work for me?
If the first 2 answers are yes, then drop the shoulds and replace with a MUST. You’ll then be empowered to figure out a way to make it work.
If the first 2 answers are a no, then drop the shoulds and meet yourself where you’re at without judgment.
We know that life is not perfect. If you’re TRULY not ready to pick a habit up, it’s not that important to you, and set it aside for a bit longer until you MUST pick it up.
Sometimes we just want to be there already but the added pressure and judgment doesn’t get us there any faster. In fact, approaching it that way is one way to make the habit NOT sustainable because you aren’t truly ready to take it on, and here at Synergy Wellness, we’re not about that.
Stay open to things looking differently than your ideal, so that your shoulds can turn into musts and you can be successful!