I recently got such a giggle out of a TikTok video which has a guy from the UK explaining that he has just found out that American students need a hallpass to go to the bathroom. Apparently this is not a thing in the UK!
Seeing this also landed directly in line with an opportunity I had to go to a brand new event this week called The Permission Slip Conference. I headed up to Knoxville for a few days to soak in some new ideas with other women entrepreneurs and small business leaders. Their goal was to encourage women to dream big dreams AND take action. Their website reads: "It's time for you to write your own damn permission slip... You have permission to dream big. You have permission to be bold. You have permission to take up space - just as you are right at this very moment. You have permission…not that you need it from us. It’s all already inside you."
So this week I have been thinking a lot of what we have permission to do, what we think we need permission to do, and what we are waiting for permission to do. What if we just made the mental switch to write our own permission slips? To stop asking for a hall pass?
The conference was right - we don't need that permission from anyone else. What we need is to recognize we give these spaces and graces to ourselves. They don't really come from outsiders.
This is work I have been doing so much of in the last year, and ending my final travel of the year with The Permission Slip Conference was a lot of fun. It was perfectly timed to help me wrap up some hard work of my own, and put an inspirational cherry on top as I head into the holidays. AND - it has also left me wondering who else I know really needs that boost, some inspiration, someone to cheer for them, a circle of friends that say WE NEED YOU! What has become crystal clear to me over 2023 is that when we stifle down our own gifts, skills, dreams, and passions, we aren't the only ones who miss out. The whole world suffers when we hold back and make ourselves small.
I'd love to walk alongside you in 2024 if you are looking for a hall pass, a permission slip, a vote of confidence, a friend on the journey. Want some ideas? Let's talk - email me at brandicdiamond@gmail.com.
This makes me ponder, "Do I need a hall pass?" because of another book I am reading, "Life Worth Living" the chapter I read recently takes on the question "Who do we answer to?" The writers offer the philosophies of Confucius, Muhammad, and Kant. I will wrestle with the question a little longer. Thanks for the post. ~MWillis