Stop asking for permission to achieve your dreams

I see it time and time again. And I recognize it, because I was guilty myself. Is there someone’s approval you need to make what you need to make? Do what you need to do? 

I know I did. And I know it’s not just the obvious- needing a boss to sign off on a project, going to an audition to be in a play or a band. Letting other people decide for you what you can and can’t do, how your unique voice needs to be expressed in the world. 

But it’s also the internalized guilt. The internalized doubt. When we were once free of cultural and societal expectations, we expressed ourselves without inhibition. Once the powerful took hold, they understood it was hard to rule culture by force, to get people to act in the same way by coercion. So a much more sinister plot was undertaken- to internalize that command, to line up along expectations of the the capitalism. To go from “you must” to “I should”. We as a culture have internalized this mentality, that there is a straight and narrow path to the good life, and that only through the blessings of those above us can we succeed. 

It’s a charade. It’s control without the whip or chain.  Don’t audition for the theater group. Find out what it costs to rent the theater and start your own. For good and for bad, we are extremely adaptable. We can let the cage close in without realizing we alone hold the key, and get ourselves comfortable with the walls. 

Break down those walls. Unlose those chains. While you’re at it, see if there are others as well you can help break free. But don’t let anyone stop you. Your unique voice is here to sing multitudes, and it’s a gift to all of us that you’re here. So stand tall, be responsible, and own your own destiny.