The Standards of “Shoulds”
Jennifer Mandato, LAC
As I sit home in the silence of this quarantine, my mind is riddled with “should’s”.
I should be cleaning my house more…. I should be exercising more…. I should be practicing more mindfulness…. Those are only a few that I hear daily. I felt because I am home more SHOULD be able to get done. Then one day as I was unwinding after work scrolling through social media, I came across this quote by Jenny Jaffe “You’re only unproductive by the standards of the world we live in two months ago and that world is gone”. Almost instantly I felt myself exhale and a weight lifted off my shoulders. In that moment with everything going on that was EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I was comparing myself to our previous normal of what I could get done but things are not that way. I cannot go to stores and go about daily routines as I used to. Our world is very different now and what I can accomplish in a day is enough. What we can do on a given day under the circumstances is enough. This quote has almost become a daily mantra to remind myself of as to know I am doing everything I can and that is enough. What you are doing is enough and breathe!
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