SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
Quit Shouldn’t-ing All Over Yourself. What Purpose Does That Serve?
What is one thing you will never do again and why?
Day 6 of 30-Day Writing Challenge: What is one thing you will never do again and why?
Never will I ever… again.”
I have said that many, many times after drinking many, too many ‘just ones’ only to find myself drinking only a few days later.
I can’t say I will never drink again. I’ve tried that. It doesn’t work to put that limitation on my vernacular.
So, if the answer isn’t not drinking alcohol, then what is it that I would never do again?
The Perfect Past
Thinking about this question makes me consider all my past failures, mistakes, and things I regret. A part of me would like to go back in time, with hindsight, to adjust my behaviors–trying to create the perfect moment, every moment.
But that’s not how life works.
Life is messy.
Experiences shape us.
We shape our identities and our sense of self (or lack thereof) with all these imperfect moments, and that is what makes the process of living so perfect. We unfold.
But maybe I am overthinking this.
Experiences teach us how to be safe and how to move forward.
Don’t touch the hot stove.
Friends who make fun of you aren’t fun to hang out with.
So there’s got to be a simple answer to the question: what’s one thing you will never do again and why?
“I shouldn’t have done that.”
“I should have done that instead.”
“I can’t do that.”
“I wouldn’t ever do that.”
All these phrases have limiting beliefs. And I would love to say that keeping these words out would be the one thing I will never do again because they prevent me from elevating, from being my best self, from living life to the fullest.
