{"id":337,"date":"2019-01-18T11:33:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-18T17:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/i-shoulda-woulda-coulda\/"},"modified":"2019-02-18T10:16:18","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:16:18","slug":"i-shoulda-woulda-coulda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=337","title":{"rendered":"I Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/div>\n

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda
\nYou know those words: \u201cI should have done that but”, \u201cI would have been 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. Or they represent hesitation to move forward.<\/p>\n

I posted that I chose the word \u201ccontentment\u201d this year as my word of the year to focus on and maintain. But yesterday a new thought occurred to me: What word am I not going to choose this year? 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 this 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. That\u2019s why I\u2019m volunteering at Scottish Rite Hospital for Children where I meet precious children, families, co-volunteers, and medical personnel. In fact, I met a co-volunteer yesterday that inspired me with her energy and zeal. I could be saying, I shoulda volunteered, but instead, I\u2019m saying \u201cI\u2019m sure glad I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also signed up for a couple of \u201cfield trips\u201d to historical places to visit here in the Dallas area. I remember a friend of mine coming to Dallas last year with a group and her describing the interesting places that I had never visited in my city and I thought — \u201cI should have gone to those places by now!\u201d No more \u201cshoulds\u201d. I don\u2019t know anyone going on these upcoming field trips, but I\u2019m going to get out and about and meet new friends and make the most out of it.<\/p>\n

I said \u201cYes\u201d to being on an advisory group at my church. Instead of being a \u201cshrinking violet\u201d I\u2019m going to use my skills and talents to hopefully benefit this group with my knowledge and training.<\/p>\n

When we take the \u2018shoulds\u2019 off the table, we find out why we\u2019re really waking up in the 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<\/p>\n

I thought \u201cWhat can replace the \u2018shoulds\u2019 in my life?\u201d It came to me that gratitude is what belongs in my heart and on my lips. For example, I took a 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.<\/p>\n

\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<\/p>\n

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, as long as 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, 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, never, ever be a shoulda, coulda, woulda.<\/p>\n

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda You know those words: \u201cI should have done that but”, \u201cI would have been 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.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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":[1],"tags":[196,197,198,38,199,200,201,202,203,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,211,212,213],"class_list":["post-337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-contentment","tag-could","tag-coulda","tag-gratitude","tag-i-can","tag-i-will","tag-no-regrets","tag-opportunities","tag-passion","tag-phillippians-413","tag-purpose","tag-should","tag-shoulda","tag-shrinking-violet","tag-skills","tag-talents","tag-vocabulary","tag-would","tag-woulda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337","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=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9032,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions\/9032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}