Permission Slip Alert! #notchoosing

The idea of permission slips really resonates for me. It often feels to me like we humans, and I am wholeheartedly including myself in this, are waiting for some sort of permission slip to live in a way that really lights us up. My thought is that we are here on earth at this time, in this form - what bigger permission slip do we need? No one else is in the world has the same experience and gifts that we have, we should definitely share them because if we do not, who will? I firmly believe that. And at the same time I get that sometimes this is too abstract of a concept to work with as we are getting bogged down through day to day external messaging that we might be receiving. For this reason I also like permission slips as a very tangible tool that we can use to help us move past barriers we might be running in to - especially the external ones. I experienced this recently and wrote myself a permission slip to move past a piece of advice that I kept bumping into but really does not feel aligned for me at this time.

 After I left my previous career, content started coming out of me everywhere. I was writing volumes every day and experimenting with putting it out into the world in different ways such as this blog, the Millennial Leadership Podcast, half written book outlines, partially thought out business ideas and journaling - so much journaling. I was also absorbing information at a rapid rate, completely researching entire industries to build stakeholder maps and analysis of industry trends just out of curiosity, or going down deep rabbit holes of self-discovery through personality tests, astrology and human design. As time went on I started to hear from more and more people: You need to pick something to focus on, otherwise you will never be successful. Every time I heard this, it was like a dart to my heart. Without even getting into unpacking definitions of success, I felt like most of my content consumption and output for the last few years had been around subjects related to my previous organization. Because it required me to be so informed (definitely my own requirement - not theirs) I did not have as much time to explore some of these other curiosities and had been shelving them for a while. I felt like I finally had a license to explore. Also, I like to have multiple things on the go because you never know where opportunity is going to arise. If you keep multiple ideas simmering you can capitalize on chances to move different ideas forward. Feeling super stagnated and frustrated the other day because I had been internalizing the advice to focus on one thing, that I kept receiving, I wrote myself a permission slip which I am sharing here:

I give myself permission to NOT decide. I feel more lit up by thinking/considering multiple possibilities. I recognize that this means a high risk of failure. It also means one thing may grow bigger than I could imagine. I give myself permission to embrace venture capitalist thinking by putting currency (my energy) towards lots of ideas. I give myself permission to follow my curiosity. I will no longer feel small, chaotic or disorganized if someone says "you have too many things on the go" or "you are so busy" (Busy to me implies unconscious hamster-wheeling. What I am doing is throwing myself into exploring possibility and consciously creating my life) Permission to explore, create, be curious and NOT choose. Amanda Rae xoxo

If you are finding yourself getting stuck again and again up against external messaging, Giving yourself permission to not get hung up on it by writing it down can be a productive way to let go of that messaging. I recommend hand writing and signing the bottom and then putting it in a place where you can see it and be reminded of this permission you give yourself. What external messaging do you keep running up against that is holding you back? What do you need to write yourself a permission slip for?

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Quiet area. I give myself permission to receive what serves me and reject and move past the messaging that does not.

Campuhan Ridge Walk, Ubud, Bali