Permission is an important tool for maintaining mental health. With permission, you can let yourself rest, make mistakes, take chances, feel sad, or have an off day. Without permission, anytime those things happen (which they will, ‘cause we're human), a voice in our head chimes in, saying "you're failing!"⁠
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Mine loves to speak up whenever I'm not productive enough. ⁠
Maybe yours gets loud when you're "selfish," or "risky."⁠
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With permission, that voice doesn't have much to say. You can take your break, be irresponsible, and enjoy this life of ours.⁠
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Until you forget you gave yourself permission, and that critical voice slips in.⁠
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Two months ago, I gave myself permission to raise the hell out of my pup, Arche. I gave myself permission not to invest all my time into my business. I gave myself permission to slowly chip away at the story I'm writing. I gave myself permission to post a little less both here and on my blog.⁠
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And then six weeks in I forgot I had permission to do any of those things, and I woke up in a panic with a voice yelling, "YOU'RE BEHIND ON EVERYTHING!"⁠
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In the span of twenty-four hours I went from doing great to being a garbage human—all because I forgot.⁠
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Dealing with a particularly nasty critic is trying. That voice can be tricky, patient, and opportunistic—just waiting for its opening to lash out.⁠
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That's why practices like journaling and meditation can be super-powerful. Any time you can take a second to check back in on what you have permission to do, and create some separation and gain a little perspective on what your critic is up to, you give yourself a shot at a better, healthier day.⁠