When we were little, we needed permission to do practically anything. If we wanted to color, we had to ask. If we wanted to go outside, we had to ask. If we wanted to play our music loud, we had to ask. This feeling of needing permission to do things can carry over into adult life, especially when it comes to doing things that are fun or big, which makes it that much harder to reach personal goals.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you don’t need permission to work toward your goals. If you are in a relationship or have a family, you will need to work together with your partner to find and schedule time and perhaps find funds to do the things that light your fire, but you don’t need their permission. There is only one exception to this, and that’s if whatever you would like to do is dangerous to yourself or others – then please listen to those who love you.
Censoring that little voice in your head
The next time something lights your fire and you want to set a goal, take a moment to see what little voices pop up about why you can’t. If you’re feeling extra, take a moment to write all these reasons down. When you look at your list, you’ll find that several of your reasons don’t stand up to scrutiny. Allow yourself to release those reasons as they are not serving you.
The next time something lights your fire and you want to set a goal, take a moment to see what little voices pop up about why you can’t.
If there are real reasons that you need to delay, that’s okay. Those are the things that you need to address first before you begin your new adventure. Whatever it is you do, be brave and create plans to work toward your goal. The worst thing that can happen is after spending days or weeks trying something new, you might learn that there are some very real reasons that it’s not right for you. That’s okay. If you gave it your best shot, then you’ll come out of the experience with a better understanding of yourself.
That time I thought I would make a great runner
Ages ago, I thought it would be the coolest thing in the world to be a runner. I had all these gorgeous powerful women in my life who had embraced running and they always spoke about how good it made them feel. I kept telling myself I couldn’t take up running because I had babies at home that might need me in the 30 minutes I was away from home.
Finally, when I turned thirty I realized that if I wanted to try it, I wasn’t getting any younger. I got brave enough to talk to my hubby about how I could make it work and we came up with a plan. I enjoyed running for several years and did several 5k races until I started having knee issues. Had I not tried it, I would still be wondering if it was a good fit for me.
Discussion Question: What’s the dumbest thing that stopped you from working toward a goal?
