Elisabeth and I talk a lot about being women entrepreneurs. We talk about the stress of trying to secure work each month in order to pay the bills. We celebrate the good times, and we allow each other the space and grace to share the times we mess up and give up.
More than anything, we provide each other the permission to be ourselves.
Creating something new and different, something that is your own is unnerving to a lot of people. It makes them wonder and question how you spend your time. It makes them challenge you and try to doubt yourself because it’s so different and unusual.
But here’s the thing. No matter what anyone else says to you or about you, you have the deciding power to let it dictate who you are and how you see yourself. When we do take on those names and labels that other people try to put on us, we are giving up our voice to decide who we are. No one really gets to decide who we are except the voice inside of us.
Sometimes you need permission to be yourself. Sometimes you need permission to do the things that center you, that remind you of who you are, what you believe in, and the people who are important to you. Sometimes you need permission to say, “I am a good writer. I am a good pastor. I am a good partner. I am a good mom. I am a good sister. I am a good brother. I am a good dad.”
You have my permission to chose one of these statements and wear it instead of whatever label other people have tried to put on you.
Ready, go!