Does life sometimes feel like a long to do list? Do you find yourself constantly thinking about who you ‘should be’, what you ‘should be doing’, or what you ‘should have done’???? Is your life simply full of ‘should’s’? How does that make you feel? At a guess, I would say exhausted.

I have had somewhat of a light bulb moment this week, thanks to a brilliant coaching session with a friend. You see I am as guilty as the next person of ‘should-ing’ all over myself. So many of us worry endlessly about the past and future without appreciating the present moment. This simply drains our energy and causes us stress. Stress has such big impact on our health and well-being. However, it was only this week that I connected that all these ‘shoulds’, all these stories that we tell ourselves, can actually switch on the stress response.

This light bulb moment has been trans-formative for me and has given me real clarity about what ‘letting go’ means…. and I would encourage you all to step back, become aware of where ‘shoulds’ show up in your life…. and let them go…

The impact on your stress levels, your energy levels, and health will be far reaching….If you can let go of worrying about what you should have done in past, and what you should do in the future, you will be able to bring yourself into present moment conscious awareness, which is key to reducing stress.

As adults it can be easy to drown in all our responsibilities and shoulds. However, there is no better way to bring yourself back to the present moment than losing yourself in creative flow, or simply giving yourself permission to do something that brings you JOY.

This week I am discussing stress with my coaching clients, so I will be delighted to share these insights with them. I always start the discussion around what helps them to relax. We all have an idea of what helps us relax. However, very often we rarely make the time, or give ourselves permission to do it. I find it so wonderful to see the shift when people start to see clearly that their choices can have such a positive impact on their health and wellbeing.

I have recently read the brilliant book, ‘How to think like a monk’ by Jay Shetty, and in his concluding chapter he shares the most common regrets people have when they are dying, and two of those are ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so much,’ and ‘I wish I’d taken more pleasure from life’.

If I was to paraphrase this it might be ‘I should have allowed myself  more joy’

So, for the benefit of your health, and to avoid any future ‘should have’s’, I invite you all embrace the here and now and embrace the JOY!!!!