Susan Smith Thompson

If I wanted to, I could:

• Clean the bathroom
• Clean the other bathroom
• Clean the kitchen
• Wash the kitchen floor
• Dust my bedroom, or just the corner where the CPAP lives
• Rinse out the pieces for new CPAP so they don’t smell funny like the factory
• Finish cutting out all the hair and string in the beaters of the vacuum
• Finish vacuuming the house

Instead I choose:

• To snuggle with the dog on the couch
• To sip my coffee
• To enjoy the cleanliness of the living room and ignore the clutter elsewhere
• To take a few moments to write a few words
• To notice the cool spring breeze blowing in the window
• To enjoy a few moments of peace
• To not “should” on myself

Don’t “should” on my parade!

Using the word “should” implies failure on some level. “I should clean the bathroom” translates to “I am wrong for doing something else instead of cleaning the bathroom.” Should implies a duty, an obligation. When I use the word should and I am not doing the activity in the should statement, I feel guilty, wrong. Anxious sometimes. Not filled with internal peace. Certainly not very self-accepting.

So, following the wonderful advice in this book, You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay, I turn it around.

Instead of “I should clean the bathroom.”

It becomes “If I wanted to, I could clean the bathroom.” And I don’t want to right now. I choose to do something else at this moment (like writing this blog post) and I am full of gratitude that I have the option (because when people are coming to visit in five minutes and the kid has strewn mud all over the sink, I often don’t think I have the option–even though I do. They can deal with some mud if need be, right?). I am accepting of myself, that taking the time to write is valued. That just sitting and being is OK, good even.

And when I am accepting of myself, I am at peace with myself.

(This is my “C” entry in the A-Z challenge. Yes, those are affiliate links. I would earn a penny or two towards the cost of this site if you happened to purchase the book from those links.)

Here’s the link to the book at Barnes & Noble, and save a few pennies:

I love this book. I use it all the time.