It’s time to toss away your ‘could haves’ and ‘should haves’

Posted by Peter Junge on Jul 15, 2016 in In The News | 0 comments

The third Saturday of July – it’s July 16 in 2016 – is Toss Away the “Could Haves” and “Should Haves” Day, a special day created by Martha J. Ross-Rodgers.

Since so many of you are small business owners, this may seem like a foreign concept. After all, you have struck out on your own and just by doing that, you’ve announced to the world that you take responsibility for your present and future condition or situation.

However, when you’re struggling with the daily grind it’s easy even for “cup half full” people to get a little down and pessimistic. For this reason, it’s a good idea for all of us to toss away our “could haves” and “should haves.” They can come from our businesses or from our personal lives and, of course, most often they are a combination of the two.

Recalling and reliving regrets can make great art. Who can forget Frank Sinatra’s version of My Way: “Regrets, I’ve had a few. But then again, too few to mention.” Or Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront: “I coulda been a contender.”

But carrying the “coulda” and “shoulda” baggage around in real life has a crushing effect on our ability to move forward and achieve the promises of all our tomorrows. And for small business owners, this is not only personally devastating, it ruins our chance at commercial success and that, of course, also has a huge impact on our families.

On Toss Away the “Could Haves” and “Should Haves” Day, you’re encouraged to write all of these kinds of regrets and blames on pieces of paper and then toss them away. Then make the following resolution to yourself:

“From this day forward, I choose not to live in the past, the past is history that I cannot change. I can do something about the present, I choose to live in the present.”

And as a small business owner, there is a lot you can do in the present to improve your position and spur your company on to greater success than you have ever before enjoyed.

But you can’t move forward if you allow yourself to be weighed down by the past.