Why “I Shouldn’t Feel Like This” Keeps You Stuck

And how this 90-second mindfulness practice helps you move through it.

Image by Freepik

For two weeks, I was tiptoeing around something I needed to ask for at work.

It was reasonable — something we’d actually agreed on before. No big deal.

But when I finally asked, my voice weakened. My body tensed.
And then came the inner judgment:

You shouldn’t feel like this.
You should have learned this lesson already.
You shouldn’t feel bad for asking for what you need.

The voice didn’t just scold me for the discomfort — it scolded me for feeling how I felt.

It made me want to shut it down.
Ignore it.
Open Instagram.
Scroll it away.

The thought “I shouldn’t feel like this” keeps us stuck because it turns feeling into failure, and disconnects us from the very emotions that need our attention.

It traps us in a loop of shame, where instead of moving through the emotion, we stay stuck trying not to feel it.

If “I shouldn’t feel like this” sounds familiar, this will show you where that voice comes from — and give you a 90-second practice to…