A Life of 'I should'

I've grown up with a lot of shoulds instilled in me. I should be happy. I should make other people happy. I should be a good person. Expectations were a lot to live up to. As an adult I feel very pressured to maintain my life of shoulds- even though they do not bring me true happiness or fulfillment. Rather, they make me feel empty.

I was recently advised to take away the 'shoulds' and start being true to myself. This will be a difficult task, but I know that it is one I must undertake. I need to be more honest with myself, and accept myself for who I really am and not who I (or anyone else) thinks I 'should' be.

Last evening I was listening to a guided meditation by Jason Stephenson on Youtube (look him up) and felt the call (again) to write children's books. Maybe I will begin following this call and see what happens.