You know those words: \u201cI should have done that but”, \u201cI would have been that but” or \u201cI could have gone there but\u2026..\u201d Should — Would — Could are words I\u2019ve determined to get out of my vocabulary this year because they represent the past and that past is behind me AND they represent hesitation to move forward.
I\u2019m going to take the \u201cshoulds\u201d off the table because I want to wake up each morning and have a true purpose in each new day. I want to take on projects and activities and be able to say \u201cyes\u201d to opportunities that open the door to new friendships and new adventures. While I thoroughly enjoy myself as my best friend and could stay in my own presence and be quite contented, I enjoy participating in activities with people that I\u2019ve come to enjoy their presence, too. If I kept to myself, I would never have the sweet friendships and relationships with others that I have today.
My husband and I made many missions trips to Mexico and Belize. There were always English-speaking people there that could translate for us, but over the years I\u2019ve longed to be able to speak Spanish. I am more determined than ever to learn \u2013 especially because of the Spanish-speaking people in my sphere of influence. I am on the foreign language app, Duolingo, and everyday for up to an hour at a time, I will practice, learning a new word or phrase each day. In fact, I am on a 228-day streak \u2013 not missing a day to practice. I am determined. No more do I wish I could, would or should\u2026\u2026because I AM doing it!
With “shoulds” eliminated, we can wake up each morning with a true purpose and intent on forgetting the past and making the most of each new day. Instead of saying I should do this. I should do that. I shouldn\u2019t feel this way, I’m going to make statements like \u201cI will do this. I will do that. I will not have those feelings.\u201d
I thought \u201cWhat can replace the \u2018shoulds\u2019 in my life?\u201d It is gratitude. For example, I took a power nap the other day and when I woke up, I thought \u201cI should have finished inputting those records.\u201d Then I came to myself and whispered, \u201cThank you, God, for that nap gift. I must have really needed it.\u201d I got up and finished my work.
\u2018Should, would, could in my life are trickster and fibber words. I have decided that I won\u2019t be speaking their names this year. Instead, I\u2019m choosing, \u201cI will, I can, I am\u201d. I choose to live with no regrets because there isn\u2019t a thing we can do about the past. We can lament a missed opportunity for years that can weigh down our hearts like a steel anchor. \u201cIf I had only\u2026\u201d has nothing to do with talent; it is simply the result of courage or procrastination.\u201d
Those people \u2013 the shoulda coulda woulda folks \u2013 are not you and me. We are destined to leave an indelible mark on the world, if we have the will to make it happen. We\u2019ll never know what we are truly capable of until we unleash our passion and give ourselves permission to go, do, and be creators. I don\u2019t know about you, but when I get to the end, I hope I\u2019ll have more battle scars and fewer regrets. May we seize the day and never, ever be shoulda, coulda, woulda people!
“I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You know those words: \u201cI should have done that but”, \u201cI would have been that but” or \u201cI could have gone there but\u2026..\u201d Should — Would — Could are words I\u2019ve determined to get out of my vocabulary this year because they represent the past and that past is behind me AND they represent hesitation…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22751,22752],"tags":[22750,1210,1769,197,22746,38,199,3679,22749,40,1245,201,202,1685,205,2975,206,22747,212,22748],"class_list":["post-15529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-i-will","category-no-shoulds-woulds-coulds","tag-be-creators","tag-blog","tag-christian","tag-could","tag-could-have","tag-gratitude","tag-i-can","tag-i-can-do-all-things-through-christ","tag-i-will-do-it","tag-inspiration","tag-leave-a-mark","tag-no-regrets","tag-opportunities","tag-philippians-413","tag-purpose","tag-seize-the-day","tag-should","tag-should-have","tag-would","tag-would-have"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15539,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15529\/revisions\/15539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}