The cousins aren't helpful

You know them.

Could've would've should've…

(No, I'm not referring to Celine Dion's 2003 classic here. Not Taylor either.)

And 'shouldn't have', 'wouldn't have' and 'couldn't have'.

Those words blur how we see reality. 

It no longer matters what shouldn't have or should have happened. Or what could have or couldn't have happened. What matters right now is what the undeniable reality is.

When we strip those words off our lens, we increase our chances of seeing what is right here, in front of us.

As I've written before, one of the best gifts we can give ourself is see reality exactly the way it is, before doing something useful about it.