Mental check! Are you guilty of “should-ing” yourself ?

“I should look like that”

“I should eat more greens”

“I shouldn’t eat ice cream”

“I should be working on my business idea”

“I should clean the garage”

“I should help my parents”

“I should call my friends”

“I should be more productive”

If that sounds like you too, you’re not alone. It weighs more on you than you think!

Your “shoulds” are a direct correlation of where you put the most pressure on yourself. It’s a good and bad thing, because you can take your “shoulds” and start putting them to action or more often than not, it’s putting unhelpful amounts of anxiety and stress into your life.

It isn’t our fault that we feel this way. We are surrounded by societal pressures everywhere especially when we are consumed with social media. We subconsciously start comparing and sometimes go down the spiral of letting those pressures dictate how we should be living our life or how we should look- and guess what? it’s holding us back from feeling good. It stops now!

Here’s how I’m starting to shift my perspective on all the “shoulds” in my life:

WILL VS. SHOULD

From this moment forward, when I catch myself using the word “should”, I will change it to “WILL”.

I will cook, I will chip away at my business idea, I will clean the garage, I will eat ice cream before dessert. It’s a much more assertive and positive mindset to have and takes the guilt out.

WRITE IT DOWN AND GET TO WORK

To-do lists are type A personalities bible and that’s exactly what I have routinely started doing before bed. All my shoulds become actionable tasks and I get them done no matter what. Pro tip: start every task with a VERB- so you know exactly what to do at a glance. “Respond to emails for 30 minutes” is much more action oriented than just “emails”.

TRACK YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

Allocate a section on your daily to-do list with a daily “mood tracker”. This can look like giving yourself a number from 1 to 10, 1 being feeling low, down, super unmotivated to 10 being highly productive, feeling on top of the world and energized. As you set goals for yourself and accomplish them one by one, you’ll start to see a shift in your confidence. The progress you make daily as you check off your list is more confidence boosting than you think- especially when you weaved in tasks to build a healthier more sustainable lifestyle. IE: working out everyday, drinking 8 glasses of water, or cooking all meals. etc.

MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF

Now that we’re turning shoulds into actionable tasks, don’t forget to schedule in time for yourself! I like to take half an hour minimum each day to so something FOR me. This includes, taking a mustard bath while listening to jazz, spending 15 minutes 2x a day on face massage and gua sha, or eating ice cream out in the sun with the pups.

I have 3 pints of Halo Top ice cream stocked in my fridge currently (strawberry, vanilla, and Mint Chip). They also have dairy free flavors which I have yet to try. They taste soooo yummy, creamy and fluffy and are lower in calorie with more protein. It’s definitely an ice cream you can ENJOY and feel good about eating- especially at the end of the day when you got everything done.

Alright guys! I hope you will join me in this “Should” cleanse and turn it into an opportunity to grow and be better!

love u lots