When we choose Should, we’re choosing to live our life for someone or something other than ourselves. The journey to Should can be smooth, the rewards can seem clear, and the options are often plentiful.
Must is different. Must is who we are, what we believe, and what we do when we are alone with our truest, most authentic self. It’s that which calls to us most deeply. It’s our convictions, our passions, our deepest held urges and desires — unavoidable, undeniable, and inexplicable. Unlike Should, Must doesn’t accept compromises.
Must is when we stop conforming to other people’s ideals and start connecting to our own — and this allows us to cultivate our full potential as individuals. To choose Must is to say yes to hard work and constant effort, to say yes to a journey without a road map or guarantees, and in so doing, to say yes to what Joseph Campbell called “the experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”
Choosing Must is the greatest thing we can do with our lives.
~ Elle Luna, The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion
Source: Brain Pickings, The Crossroads of Should and Must
Live & Learn 
I have never thought of it (life) like this and, having had a ghastly week, this resonates – thank you David sooooo much!
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Me too Julie. Hit me like a Aha!
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Thank you for this Must Read post, David.
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Crafty Ann. And it’s so early!
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we must be true to ourselves.
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“One of the most common ways in which we imprison ourselves is by comparing ourselves to others and, upon finding our situation inferior, placing blame — on circumstances that we feel are unfair, on the people we believe are responsible for those circumstances, or on some abstract element of fate we think is at play.”.
It is amazing how easily blame fills in the gaps when I am feeling inferior; it is a temporary salve. Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”. Its so true; without comparison, should wouldn’t exist.
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Yes…that’s it comparison and judgment.
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Reblogged this on On the Homefront and commented:
I “must” reblog this……..
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I’m going to be thinking about this for a long while and likely sharing in conversations. This is a game changer. As often occurs here, your timing is impeccable friend, and I shake my head…’how did he know???’…..
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Ahhhhhhh, so glad!
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My whole childhood seemed a battle between should and must, with should more often the winner. Obligations so often clash with creativity, with the latter squeezed into declared time slots, if it isn’t to disappear altogether.
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Sarah, I’m sure that many of us could line up with you (but perhaps not say it so eloquently)
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Its time to stop shoulding all over ourselves!
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That’s right!
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May we always know the difference.
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Yes!
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It is sad when something that should be a MUST becomes a SHOULD. Ya know?
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Yes! Or when a SHOULD should be a MUST but never converts!
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Reblogged this on THE STRATEGIC LEARNER.
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A wonderful read! So much food for thought and introspection.
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So true!
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