Grant Yourself Permission

The Sustainable Ambition View: 

  • As you enter these holiday months, empower yourself to grant permission to make it all a little more sustainable. 

Why it matters:

  • Permission is often sought outside ourselves vs. giving ourselves permission. Doing so disempowers us from making the choices that are right for us or may hold us back from being and acting in ways that align with our instincts or our truth.

Behind the thinking: 

  • The concept of permission keeps popping up in my world, and it made me think about what permission means. It’s definition: “Consent or authorization.” 

  • That definition brings to mind a controlling mechanism. A who or what that might be holding us back from doing something.

  • But what if we embrace the adage, “Don’t ask for permission, ask for forgiveness.” In other words, trust yourself and give yourself permission.

  • Here is some inspiration around permission to help you make it all a bit more sustainable and to build resilience:

    • Permission to set boundaries and still achieve results. Listen to Greg McKeown of Essentialism and Effortless and get 5 tips to achieve results and not work so hard.

    • Permission to dial it back. Great tips to help you reframe your thinking and cut back on your to do’s and avoid burnout. 

    • Permission to simplify. 33 quick, smart, simplicity tips. 

    • Permission to let it go. Fretting about a career decision? Dealing with regret? Tips to give yourself some grace.

    • Permission to start small. From B.J. Fogg and his book, “Tiny Habits, and accompanying resources. Make it small to get started and create momentum.

    • Permission to do what’s true for you. An oldie, but goodie with Cheryl Strayed inspiring us to listen to our inner voice.

    • Permission to explore. Perhaps over the long weekend, take a break to explore Jason Kottke's curation of wonders that he says, “covers the essential people, inventions, performances, and ideas that increase the collective adjacent possible of humanity.”

What’s next: 

  • What if you were to take radical responsibility or ownership for making it all a bit more sustainable? For what might you then grant yourself permission?

  • And don’t forget to give thanks to yourself, what’s present in your world, and others.


 

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