It Shouldn't Be Like This

It Shouldn’t Be Like This explores a simple idea that can change the way you understand emotional pain.

After more than twelve years of examining his own experiences with irritation, frustration, anger, resentment, and heartbreak, Don Ratliff discovered a common thread: emotional pain appears when reality conflicts with our belief about how things should be.

Someone should have treated us differently.
Something shouldn’t have happened.
We should have made another choice.
Life simply shouldn’t be this way.

Those hidden “shoulds” can keep us trapped in anger, resentment, regret, and sadness long after the event itself has passed.

In this short, practical book, Ratliff shows you how to identify the expectation behind what you’re feeling and begin moving toward acceptance—not approval or resignation, but acceptance of the reality that already exists.

The idea is simple: When something hurts, look for the should.
You may be surprised by what you find.

Read the book, test the idea against your own experiences, and see whether understanding the hidden expectation behind your emotional pain can help you begin to let it go.