“I would if I could…”

“I should really…”

“I guess I could…”

“’oud” words allows us to hide every day. They let us respond to tricky questions with a half commitment, or to wallow in regret. They enable the worst forms of time travel which are ruminations on the past and needless anxiety about the future. They are squishy words that set nothing in stone, and deny us a firm base from which to leap into new possibilities.

The next time you catch yourself saying “I should go for a run”, instead think ”I will go for a run”. The next time you catch yourself saying “ I should sit down and write that post at some stage” , trigger your brain into action by saying “I will write that post at 10pm tonight”.

Don’t should all over yourself. Get specific, firm up your commitments and watch small changes turn into huge pivots.