Coffee Talk #153: Waiting for Permission

It’s Tuesday! Grab your cup and let’s start chattin’.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I stumbled upon a new podcast that I love–Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino. I found it from the Straight Up with Stassi podcast. I like to take breaks between my True Crime and hiking podcasts for a little celeb dish. I just listened to Danny’s interview with Jennifer Love Hewitt, who happened to be my celeb idol in middle and high school. During the interview, she shared a fun story about the infamous “What are you waiting for” scene in I Know What You Did Last Summer. It made me think about something I’d just read in my Yoga Teacher Training text.

The text (The Yamas and Niyamas) explores the difference between ‘real’ and ‘nice.’ “Real asks us to live from a place where there is nothing to defend and nothing to manage, “while nice “is an imposed image of what one thinks they should be. It’s a packaging of self in a presentable box, imposed by an outer authority.” The text explains that one should work toward being real vs. being nice. Enter “what are you waiting for?!” If we’re constantly tip-toeing around the idea of what we’re expected to be by outside sources, we’re not living up to our full truth or potential.

It’s almost like we’re waiting for permission to be ourselves. Does this happen to you? When we meet someone new, we’re on our best behavior. Then, maybe they say or do something that makes us relax. Aha! Now we have permission to be just as weird (you know I’m right).

What if we didn’t wait for permission? What if we acted as we wished immediately? Sometimes, we meet someone who makes us feel at ease right away. We’re more likely to act like ourselves, which puts the other person at ease, too. We’re more likely to create a special bond with that person.

I’ve thought about this in professional terms, too. Most of my professional roles include being supervised (there’s always a boss, right?). My best work comes when I don’t have to ask permission to do something. This is when I’m most real. I go for it, thinking I would rather approach a task in a way that is true to me and ask forgiveness instead of waiting around for permission that may not even be granted. Why be afraid to make a move?

Last week, I shared tips on How to Get What You Want. I’ve also written about Making Priorities, Ways to Live Louder, and more. Clearly, this is a hot topic in my world. I’m interested in living my best live, unapologetically.

Even more, I’m interested in sharing these tips with you, because I believe everyone deserves the chance to live their best life. One of the ways I want to help you achieve your best life is through movement. I fully believe that moving your body daily creates energy, keeps you healthy, and keeps you focused on your goals. I recently had a conversation with a colleague during a work trip about this. She asked if I had more energy that day because I wasn’t teaching three classes, like usual. I told her no! the total opposite. I have more energy on the days that I move my body purposefully. Sitting in a conference room all day kills me. I don’t like it. I’m not made to sit in an office all day. I don’t think anyone is made to do this, but we’ve conned ourselves into believing that success comes with a corner office.

Thought of the day: where in your life are you waiting for permission to take action? Can you grant yourself the permission instead of waiting for someone else to do it?