Give Permission!

​From kindergarten until my senior year in high school, I was required to raise my hand during class and ask the teacher for permission if I wanted to go to the restroom.  Thankfully, permission was routinely granted.  The act of asking for permission allows a teacher to have control over our possible (or in my case "inevitable") disruptive behavior.  In high school, my parents also required that I ask them for permission before taking the car out to do something with my high school friends.  Again, my parents wanted to have control over my possible (or, again, inevitable) harmful behaviors. I am so glad that I no longer am required to ask for permission anymore if I need to go to the restroom or go to the grocery store.  However, there are still times in my life that I need to give myself permission to do certain things.  I have some bad habits or embedded routines or even unfortunate past experiences that have created mental barriers that don't allow me to behave in the most appropriate or desired way.  Subconsciously, I want to retain control through my habits and routines so I don't do something wrong or take too much risk.  I have found that in these instances, I need to be intentional about giving myself permission to do what I need or what is right to do.  When we find ourselves in a rut or when (not "if") we find ourselves not able to overcome something in our lives that is keeping us from improving or moving forward, it may be that we must give ourselves permission to take control and to move on or try something new.  We need to raise our hand and ask ourselves to allow us to get up and move beyond our past.