Last night I dreamt that I wasn’t invited to Taylor Swift’s wedding.

Now, in real life, I also wasn’t invited to Taylor Swift’s wedding.

But Dream Megan was deeply offended by this.

Fine, I thought. Maybe not the ceremony. But I should at least be someone's +1 at the after-party?

When I woke up, I laughed at how ridiculous it all was.

But you know how sometimes a dream hangs around for awhile? Like when you’re annoyed at your spouse because Dream Them flirted with someone else?

This was kind of the opposite.

As I got dressed, my subconscious began to nag at me. The dream was trying to tell me something, and not that I wish I was Taylor Swift's one normie friend she takes to dinner all the time (though if she ever gets booted from the clique, I volunteer as tribute).

The truth I'm embarrassed to admit:

I spend way too much time feeling like things should be happening for me.

Style Girlfriend should have a Netflix deal by now. A media company should have bought us before AI blew up the content business. The universe should occasionally recognize that I’ve been working really hard over here.

It’s not that those are bad desires.

It’s that “should” is a terrible way to live.

Tom Brady was recently on the New Heights podcast, and as a Packers fan – or really, someone from anywhere outside New England – I almost skipped it.

Instead, I came away with a ver-r-r-r-ry begrudging respect for the future Hall of Famer.

Brady talked about how his journey from backup college QB to multiple Super Bowl winner wasn’t physical.

It was mental.

Brady stopped focusing on why he should be getting minutes and started focusing on becoming the kind of teammate and player a coach couldn’t ignore.

Opportunity still had to come, and when it did, he was ready. But without the mindset shift, he never would have gotten called up.

It reminds me of one of my favorite ideas from James Clear's Atomic Habits:

Your actions reveal what you actually want.

If you say something is important but never change your behavior, then you don’t really want it.

Oof.

Maybe your issue is feeling like you should be in a relationship by now, or you should have a different body, or your boss should appreciate you more.

Whatever it is, can you – and if you’re anything but a Pats fan, I apologize for what I’m about to say – but can you adopt a Tom Brady mindset and think, what can I do differently? How can I show up differently?

Maybe that looks like embracing your hair loss and shaving off what's left (or hopping a plane to Turkey for a transplant!). Maybe it’s actively asking for feedback at work after getting passed over for a promotion instead of seething about how wronged you were. Maybe it’s joining a gym. Or a dating app.

Whatever your version is, the shift is the same.

Less, “Why hasn’t this happened for me?”

More, “What can I do next?”

Does this resonate for you? Hit reply and tell me the "should" you're ready to drop from your inner monologue.

Anyway, go Pack go 🧀🧀🧀

Megan