Skip to content

One Little Word Update: April 2021

I’m a week late on this one but, you know what? The prompt for this month was all about letting go. And I’m letting go of posting things on a schedule other than my own. At least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

So. Letting go. I spent a lot (and I mean a lot a lot) of time considering this prompt and pondering what I wanted or needed to let go of. Truthfully, I kept coming up blank. I thought about things I maybe should let go of . . . like playing with my Nintendo switch or watching the news in the morning or online shopping. But really, I didn’t want to give up any of those things because they are important things to me. They bring me happiness or relaxation or whatever.

Ultimately, I decided that when it comes to my word create, I want to let go of 2 things. One is the fear of failure. I’ve had the idea of writing my story in book form (gulp) for ages but I’ve been procrastinating because I don’t feel qualified or I don’t think I have anything new to contribute or I don’t even know how to approach writing a book. Instead of focusing on those things I am letting go of the fear and instead I will create space for myself to put my words on paper. That’s all. I’m not going to consider what happens next.

The other thing I am letting go of is the word should. Particularly when it comes to things I think I should be doing . . . I should be journaling, I should be writing, I should be exercising. Instead, I am giving myself permission to let go of making those things a chore and equating productivity with happiness. Instead, I will embrace those things as part of the process of creating a whole me.

I guess, in the end, it comes down to creating space . . . space for myself, my thoughts, my ideas, my words . . . and letting that be enough. For now.

This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. That’s some well-considered letting go! John was beginning to drive me nuts when it seemed that he was starting nearly every sentence with “We should …” Yes, there are things we should do, but when everything is phrased as a chore, I find myself not wanting to do any of them. Creating space for yourself is just right.

  2. Oh, those shoulda, woulda, coulda sentences are bad juju! I hope you find joy in letting go.

  3. I think these are both good things to let go of, particularly the fear. I saw some really good writing advice a day or two ago in my Twitter feed. I think it came from a comedy writer (maybe a writer for the Simpsons?), but the source is really irrelevant. Basically the crux of it was this: The writer said that the hardest part of writing was the initial draft, and that it was much easier for him to revise. So he always started by writing whatever he could, even knowing that it was complete crap, because he knew he could always make it better in the revision process. So if you want to write your story (and I totally think you should!), I say get rid of the fear that it won’t be good or that you don’t know how. Just write it. Because getting it out is the hard part, and it doesn’t have to be perfect or even what you want on the first go.

  4. Should really should be a four letter word don’t you think? I’m excited for you and your writing future!

  5. Some years ago, I made three lists: things I wanted to do, things I had to do, and things I should do. Then I threw out the shoulds (except for certain niceties like writing thank-you notes.)

  6. When I was in therapy my therapist gave me an assignment: for a week, I carried a brown paper bag with me everywhere and whenever I thought or said “should” I wrote whatever it was on a piece of paper and put it in the bag. I was totally shocked at the end of the week by how many pieces of paper there were! Awful how often I was “shoulding”. And at the end of the week I threw it all away. That was (mumble) years ago and I still think of it almost every time I “should” myself — or someone else “shoulds” me!

  7. I love this Carole – when I was drafting my intentions for this year, I had Less Should and Less Fear on my list – I ended up with More Courage (I was choosing to be positive 😉 The Shoulds is a lot easier for me than the Fears … You are already an amazing writer and I hope you find the courage to move forward on that book and get a lot more comfortable without all those Shoulds.

  8. This month was a challenge, wasn’t it? I contemplate those “shoulds” all the time… and I move right past them. Mental health has been crucial during these unusual times… and many of those things are key for my mental health! (but yes to having things no longer be a chore! Excellent!!)

  9. SHOULD is really a toxic word, isn’t it? I’m so glad you’re (working at) letting that one go. XOXO

Comments are closed.

Back To Top