I “Should” Be Writing More

I’ve not been writing for almost a month. I’ve noticed the re-emergence of a word that is not helping me at all when it comes to writing or life more generally. That word is “should”.

Photo by Thought Catalog / Unsplash

“Should” is a form of negative self-talk

As time has passed since my last article, I’ve been saying to myself, “I should be writing something”.

In one of my previous articles, What Is Catastrophising, I mentioned that my therapist showed me a page of unhelpful thinking styles. One of these related to the words should and must.

These are negative words. They can make me feel guilty or feel like I’ve already failed.

The more I’ve thought about this, the more I’ve seen it showing up in my life lately:

• I should be writing more
• I should be exercising
• I should be eating better
• I should be happier

The list goes on.

I should be writing

I enjoy writing, whether that’s journaling, writing LinkedIn Posts or articles for this blog. So why is me saying that I should be writing a bad thing?