Permission granted

This week was all about granting ourselves permission. Permission to have an open mind, to play, to be feminine, to feel. Permission to be creative. Permission to move forward, or reconsider, or fail. Permission to be free, without judgement or expectation.

So, who do you become when you give yourself permission?

Some of the more salient moments in our discussions revolved around things like asking whether permission changes over time and with time. A tendency not to care as much about what others think as we age, for example. Or perhaps we merely care more about our own internal relationship with permissions we give ourselves.

What about those who allow an alter ego or creative persona to become the outlet for our permissions. Writing under an assumed name not only protects us, sometimes it frees our soul to be the us we so desperately want to be without stepping on the toes of those with different expectations of us.

Does perfectionism stand in the way of giving ourselves permission? Those thoughts of potentially letting others down or breaking a well-worn behavior cycle or, delaying unmet dreams.

Trust looms large when thinking about giving ourselves permission. Do you trust yourself? Trusting yourself leads to more self-confidence which often gives us just enough courage to try that thing that might not work. Taking a risk, going outside our normal boundaries of identity, and in doing so understanding that we may risk shame and embarrassment if we fail publicly. 

Letting go of all those cultural expectations we accumulate as we journey through life realizing how quickly they quietly add up along the way. Becoming aware of how easily they slip into our heads. 

As I continue to practice giving myself permission, doing the work, seems to be the only sure way for it to become more routine, less of a roadblock. The more you do it, the easier it becomes, though perhaps never totally easy.