The World of Should

Real integrity is walking your talk even when you don't feel like it. People lack integrity because we don't honor our principles and values and honor thoughts and feelings instead.

The world of “should” comes out of an area in our world of standards and ideals. A standard is something established for us as a rule or as a basis of comparison. While an ideal is a perfect model of something exactly as we would wish it to be; of a perfect kind.

I tend to react very negatively to the the world of “should” , which is from the world of standards and ideals. I can still feel the emotions I felt when little and my Mother said, “you should go over and kiss Aunt Verna”. Unfortunately, I resist shoulds even if I am the one who establishes them. Shoulds like, “I should exercise three times a week”, or “I should eat more healthy foods rather than junk”.

Yet even though I know better, I still feel badly when the ideal of perfection I have set for myself doesn't work. I know perfection in anything is impossible, but this is the standard I hold myself to even today. Accepting my own limitations, imperfections and failings – my humanity – is something I'm working on.