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Should ... not the way to
live
by Tash Hughes
of Word Constructions (www.wordconstructions.com.au)
Have you
ever thought about the word should? More importantly,
have you ever thought about how often you use that word,
either out loud or to yourself?
"I should
exercise more", "I'd like to go out but I should go to
bed", "My business should be earning more money by now",
"Should I email or call him?"
I think
should is a silly and even dangerous word that we would
be better off forgetting altogether.
1.
Interfering with goals
If you set yourself goal and resolutions based what you
should do or what someone else says you should do, you
are less likely to reach that goal as it is hard to
motivate yourself for a should. What's worse, is that it
takes up time when you could be working on a goal that
will more you forward and get you to what you really
want.
2. Boring!
Just living up to the shoulds instead of making
decisions is boring. And as it becomes a habit, you will
make fewer decisions, have less control and a lot less
fun!
3. Narrow
perspective
If all anybody ever did was what is expected of them,
there would be no space for creativity or development.
It forces a narrow view and stifles your imagination
making it harder to find solutions to problems, ways to
succeed and satisfaction.
4. Take
responsibility
Living under the rule of shoulds is lazy when you break
it down. By doing what you should, you are not taking
responsibility for your life and your world. At least if
you decide to act one way and it fails, you know that
you tried and accept that you made a mistake. The
reality is you are responsible for your life and
actions, so why not take the responsibility to do what
you want and think is right, rather than being reactive?
Given we
want to stop the shoulds, here are some examples of how
you can take control:
- spend
less time with people who tell you what you should
do, and more time with people who encourage you to
do what is right for you
- find a
form of exercise you like - or one that doesn't seem
like exercise! If you enjoy it, you will do it
because you want to
- choose
which phone calls you want to answer by screening
calls
- decide
if a newsletter will help your business enough to be
worth the time it requires
-
develop a habit of turning things off
- people
say "You should get a bookkeeper" but you like doing
the accounts - just reply with "I want to do them"
or say nothing and keep up the books
- do
something creative every day to expand your views
(and creative doesn't just mean paint or sew
something!)
- decide
what sort of clients you want for your business, and
say no to everyone else
- jump
out of bed with enthusiasm and look at something
beautiful or precious - a much better start to the
day than dragging yourself out at the last possible
second!
Clear communication is critical to
the success of any business, but it is often left to
care for itself in many businesses. Tash Hughes is a
professional and skilled writer who makes technical and
otherwise boring information accessible for everyone a
business needs to communicate with. Next time you need
webcopy, articles, newsletters, reports or any other
business document, visit
www.wordconstructions.com.au to
see how Tash and her team can help your business
succeed.
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