STOP ‘SHOULDING’ YOURSELF NOW
*This post is in collaboration with Halo Top*
Being in isolation for what feels like forever now, has put so much into perspective for me and I can’t be the only one. I’ve been self employed for almost 3 years and I’ve never spent this much time at home! Isolation slowed my life down REAL fast and because of that, it left me plenty of time to reflect on some of the hardest adult decisions I’ve had to make. One of them being to stop ‘shoulding’ myself and stay in Buffalo after graduation.
Halo Tops’ “stop shoulding yourself” campaign means choosing YOU every single time. From the moment we’re born, society imposes so many expectations on us from every possible angle. Through commercials, magazines, social media and it doesn’t stop there. They tell us what we should eat, wear and look like at all hours of the day, it’s exhausting! Even the people in our lives, although they may have good intentions, when they say what they think we should do, it’s through their personal lens. ‘Shoulds’ trick us into believing that what we’re doing isn’t good enough.
This is why Halo Top’s campaign really spoke to me. From the moment I moved here for school, Buffalo grew on me in ways I never expected. It became my home away from the chaos and in my heart I knew I wanted to live here after college. Yet, my anxiety told me I should job hunt in New York City just in case. Plenty of people told me I should move back to NYC or else I wouldn’t find a job. Many told me I should find a “real job” because I can’t possibly be a full time influencer while living upstate. ‘Shoulds’ breed anxiety and self-doubt even when you know exactly what you want, when you want it.
No matter what your ‘shoulds’ are, look yourself in the mirror and say what you can do. Recite what you will do. I like doing this before I get out of bed in the morning, on the couch during a commercial break, whenever I see fit because it makes me feel free. I don’t know how many times I’ve told myself I shouldn’t have ice cream before dinner or eat a whole pint in a day, but Halo Top gives me that guilt-free tasty bliss. No matter how much or how little I eat, it’s ice cream I feel good about eating!
What’s one thing you will stop ‘shoulding’ yourself about?
