Sometimes I think I must have been a nun in a past life, given how much pressure I place on myself to do or be the right thing—as if, by living “right,” I’ll somehow earn a special place in heaven. That thought alone shows how deeply I’ve absorbed some very old beliefs, ones rooted in cultural and religious conditioning, especially from my Catholic upbringing. I’m not sure which came first: the belief that I need to sacrifice myself to be worthy, or the cultural and religious