When you single-mindedly follow a principle without regard to the situation in which you apply it, you serve a tyrant. Tyrants have little regard for the wishes and circumstances of others. Tyrants insist that you just follow their rules. “Shoulds” are rules that pressure you and others to always act in a certain way, no matter what. “Shoulds” back you into a corner. They stress you out. “Shoulds” can make you anxious. When you believe that you should always be on time or that you should never make mistakes, your anxious mind makes things worse.

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