The chronicles of “shoulds”
I was going through my media monitors the other day and one word stood out to me as I browsed through the headlines:
Why you should be masturbating
Things you should do in your relationship
What you should do to make it work
When should it be over
Who should you really be dating
How should someone be treating you
The list went on and on and on…
And it got me thinking about our own little internal rule book. Many therapists are trying to silence it – that’s the voice within that says “you should” do this or that. Is anyone else wondering where this voice picks it up from?
Our media is constantly trying to write our internal rule books for us. And who is saying it? The person behind the screen, and what is their credibility? Why do we often read these should articles and apply it to our own lives before asking the right questions?
Each of us has an internal rule book and sometimes it exists for self preservation. Other times it shows us as a limiting belief, in which case: no we damn well shouldn’t, and let’s do the opposite!
Whether we should or shouldn’t is up to us, but in a world where we’re telling ourselves to say “should” and “but” less and words like “and” more – should journalists also take on this advice? I challenge all my friends to a 24-hour media freeze. For the next 24 hours no news … make your own decisions – not based on what’s happening in the world but based solely on what you want to happen.
Enjoy the freedom!
