In her book Untamed, Glennon Doyle says “I guess women have to almost die before we give ourselves permission to live how we want.”
And it’s something I’ve found to be so true in my experience working as a coach. We don’t allow ourselves to consider making a change until things get SO bad, that we literally HAVE TO.
In this podcast episode, you will learn:
- what it really means to give yourself permission
- why do sometimes we need to BE OK with letting other people down (yes, talking to all my people pleasers out there)
- how surrendering your problems to a greater power can open you up to more solutions and possibilities
Can we make a pact to NOT wait until we “almost die” to start living the lives we want?
Use the audio player above to listen, or tune in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in a life that doesn’t fulfill you? Do you have other interests and longings that you want to explore but feel restricted by societal expectations and your own fears? In this podcast episode, I share my personal journey of giving myself permission to pursue my passions and how you can do the same.
In most cases, being happier in your career requires giving yourself permission of some kind. Permission to explore your feelings of discontent, instead of constantly shoving them down. Permission to switch up the script that you’ve been running with your family, friends, or peer. Maybe you are used to playing the role of the good girl who always does the right thing or the straight-laced, overachiever who hits one home run after another. Making some sort of pivot might require you to switch up that script and play a different role.
Ultimately, it’s about giving ourselves permission to live how we want to live, to listen to ourselves, and to do the things our hearts are longing to do. The Latin root word for permission is “permissionem,” which means a giving up, a yielding. Giving myself permission was exactly that. It was giving up control and giving up ideas of what I thought my life was supposed to look like.
So, what keeps us holding on so tightly? What prevents us from giving up, yielding, and giving ourselves permission to pursue the life that is waiting for us? Usually, for most of us, it’s because things aren’t bad enough yet. We would rather stay on the path that society has paved for us until things get so bad we literally can’t stay the course any longer. But, my loves it doesn’t have to be this way. You don’t have to almost die to give yourself permission to live the life you want. You can give yourself permission right now.
Take a moment and reflect on where you’ve been restraining or restricting yourself. Where have you been holding yourself too tightly, controlling, or suppressing? What would it look like to start giving yourself permission to live how you want to live? Would it look like offering up a prayer of surrender, as I did? Would it look like allowing yourself to take that sabbatical? Or maybe you aren’t quite sure exactly how you want to live. If that’s the case, then you may need to give yourself permission to do some of the deeper self-exploration types of work.
