Stop "Shoulding" All Over Your Joy

Published 4 months ago • 1 min read

Damianne President

Changes Big and Small Podcast and Coaching

Podcaster & Coach

Have you ever felt trapped by all the shoulds in your life? You know, those persistent thoughts about how things should be, how others should behave, or how you should live your life?

Last month, I had an enlightening conversation with another life coach, Amanda Hess, about how these shoulds might be blocking our access to joy. Amanda shares her personal journey from struggling with emotional challenges to becoming a coach who helps others find self-love and acceptance.

Here are three of my key takeaways from the interview:

"Should" thinking often comes from trying to control things we can't control
When we're stuck in shoulds, we miss the beauty and joy in what actually is
Breaking free from shoulds opens up space for more authentic connections

The thing is that many of our shoulds sound perfectly fine. "I should call my parents". "I should go to be earlier". Those may sound fine, but what kind of energy does thinking in this way create for you? What if you could do the same actions but from a place of want, interest, connection?

When you have a deeper why, taking the same actions can be full of delight and curiosity rather than obligation and resentment. So this week, can you loosen some of the shoulds in your life to access this emotion?

If you're ready to break free from "should" thinking and create more joy in your life? I'd love to support you on that journey. Visit https://changesbigandsmall.com/get-coaching/ to learn more about working together.

Joyfully,
Damianne

P.S. If you found value in this newsletter, please forward it to someone who might benefit from letting go of some shoulds in their life.

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