Giving yourself permission is one of the hardest things, am I right? Why is that? I find myself constantly feeling like I need to be doing something, or that I haven’t done enough that day. There’s always a nagging feeling of guilt that if I’m resting, then I haven’t accomplished anything at all. It got me to thinking, how can I break that cycle? Well my friend, lets talk about how to give yourself permission.

What’s the first thing to come to mind when you think about how to give yourself permission? What does that look like for you? I think to really understand that, we need to identify the thoughts we are having, when we are experiencing the feelings of guilt or not enough-ness when we are resting. So many times I will finish a task, stop to take a break, then immediately feel guilty or that I didn’t do enough to deserve a break. So then I am back up and going immediately into the next task. Do you know what this contributes to? Burnout.

That’s a real thing my friend, and it can happen in lots of different areas of your life, not just work. Relationship burnout, mom burnout (whaaaat, burn her at the stake!), working out burnout…. Yeah man. Its a lot. And here’s what I mean by burnout: you’re giving too much and not taking enough. Lemme repeat that. You’re giving too much and not taking enough.

Now, what does that really mean? That you should be selfish and always take more than you give? No, not at all. By all means, giving is one of the best ways to support and be there for those that you care about. However, when we are always giving and never stopping to recharge ourselves, in whatever way that looks like for you, it is inevitable that you will exhaust yourself right into burn out. What’s that saying, you can’t pour from an empty cup? Exactly.

You cannot hold yourself to such a high standard that you slip into a self loathing shame spiral because you missed a workout or yelled at the kids when you’ve really been working on not raising your voice. No. Stop that right now. What would you tell your friend if she came to you and told you how disappointed she was in herself because she skipped the gym one day this week, and that she was just awful and was never going to reach her goal and she might as well give up. First of all you say, friend, get it together. Make your priorities a priority, and don’t make excuses. But, you are amazing, and driven, and you will absolutely reach your goals because you are a fiery goddess.

Now its time to do that for yourself. Its time you practiced how to give yourself permission. Like anything else, practice makes progress. We aren’t looking for perfection here. Just sweet and simple progress. That is the only way this will get accomplished. When you are resting, and you feel that guilt start to rise, we are going to stop and say, have I made my priorities a priority today? Because maybe that day your entire priority is to sit back and do nothing after a super tough work week. That is how to give yourself permission.

Recognize the good things you have done, do not go down a self berating shame spiral when you take a break, make your priorities a priority, and enjoy the moment you are in as they come.

What are some ways that you can give yourself a break that really recharges you? Lemme know in the comments!