“Should is the Killer of Joy.” — Liz Mosley
Shownotes
How often do you find yourself thinking about what you should be doing? How you should run your business, show up at work, be more creative, become more successful or even enjoy your life?
What if all those shoulds are getting in the way of living your life?
This week on A Thought I Kept, I'm joined by graphic designer, speaker and host of the Building Your Brand podcast, Liz Mosley, to explore a thought she first heard from joy coach Sophie Cliff: "Should is the killer of joy."
It's a thought that's changed how Liz approaches her business, her creativity and even the advice she gives her friends. And it opens up a much bigger conversation about the expectations we inherit, the stories we tell ourselves and what happens when we begin to define success on our own terms.
We talk about why joy might be the secret to consistency rather than the reward for hard work, why rejection and failure don't have to mean what we think they do, and how to find the confidence to do things differently. We also explore people-pleasing, the pressure to be good at something before we allow ourselves to enjoy it, and why being visible as a woman in midlife matters.
Along the way, Liz shares her brilliant rejection challenge, the freedom she's found in saying no, and why changing just one word — from should to could — can make so much more feel possible.
In this episode, we explore
- How replacing should with could creates more choice, possibility and joy.
- Why comparing ourselves with others can lead us towards someone else's definition of success.
- The relationship between joy, motivation and sustainable work.
- Whether failure is something we get to define for ourselves.
- Why Liz actively pursued rejection and celebrated every no.
- Creative confidence, learning in public and the importance of women being visible.
- Why we don't have to be good at something for it to be worth doing.
- The freedom of saying no, questioning professionalism and trusting our own ways of working.
About Liz Mosley
Liz Mosley is a graphic designer with over 18 years of experience, and has focused on branding for small businesses for the last 10. Her goal is to help small business owners show up more confidently and share what they do online, proudly. She does that through designing branding that feels perfectly like them, or through her podcast, Building Your Brand. She also loves to speak on stages around the world, and particularly loves encouraging creatives and business owners to actively pursue rejection.
Liz's website | Building Your Brand podcast
People and ideas mentioned
Keep exploring with A Thought I Kept
This is A Thought I Kept — Weekly conversations about the ideas that stay. Listen every Monday morning for a new thought to hold onto this week.
About Claire Fitzsimmons
Claire is the host of A Thought I Kept, a wellbeing writer, author and the co-founder of If Lost Start Here. As a Certified Coach and Emotions Coach Practitioner, Claire helps people navigate the everyday lost moments and all the feelings, from anxiety to grief, overwhelm to disconnection.
Buy Claire's first book, If Lost Start Here: Wellbeing for the Anxious, Disconnected or Uncertain here.
Subscribe to Claire's Substack newsletter here.
Find out how to work with Claire here.
Like what you heard? Follow, rate or review this podcast.
The music for all episodes from August 10th was made by Leon in the Wilderness.