The Tyranny of the "Should"

I have come to hate the word should, and I hate very few things. In med school it is used a lot - I should stop sleeping, cram more, be even more responsible. Is is really impossible to see that to help others one should (!) be as rested as possible, be alert without bitterness and a head full of mental fog? Take it from somebody who knows what burnout is after doing something somebody told her she should (!) do for years and years without listening to her heart. Oh, I hate the word should much more than I should (sorry about the pun).

What if you stop judging yourself by terrible unreachable standards, ones that you would (hopefully) never apply to anyone else? 1) What if you start doing things because they are fair, ethical, right and because doing your best is something you want? What if you listen enough to yourself to rest when you are tired? Maybe then one is sentient enough to see what is necessary, ethical and needs to be done?

1) Blog Posh Yarns