Well, I think watching out for those modal operators of necessity helps even more than the forms of be. You know, like the linguistic norm has phrases like "I have to do x" or "You need to do y" or "I just gotta do this first" just
pervading our speech -- so that we program our brains without even knowing we're doing it.
It may seem to a normy that only nit-pickers pay attention to those, but it seems to me that those little thoughtless forms of speech add up to big influence on how we live our lives. Imagine how much more choice and opportunity would present itself in your life if you constantly deliberately used language of choice rather than of obligation.
(I have totally exhausted myself just writing these two paragraphs without using any forms of be. I need a nap! I mean, I
choose a nap!
)