Permission to Be Well

Resilience is associated with overall wellbeing and lower rates of burnout. Predictors of resilience include cognitive flexibility and attention to personal health habits. But despite possessing the knowledge and skills to promote self-care, we, as health professionals often, for complex reasons, deny ourselves the time and permission to prioritize our own wellbeing. In staying with my New Year’s tradition of selecting a “word of the year,” I have chosen permission for 2020.

Permission, defined as the go-ahead, green light or blessing to move forward. This carte blanche resolves one of guilt, doubt or fear that may otherwise accompany a decision not sanctioned or approved. Additionally, permission provides reassurance and clearance to not only advance on a journey or task but to also enjoy the process and the outcome.

In 2020, I Grant Myself Permission to…

• Go for walk …every day! • Read a novel, paint a picture, listen to Bruce Springsteen • Write • Make a mistake and learn from it • Accept my own and other’s limitations • Live my values daily and publicly • Embrace fears and talk about stressors • Say “yes” to help • Be done at the end of the work day • Speak honestly, even if it displeases others • Not be judged by self or others • Rethink my thoughts, no matter how right I thought I was • Challenge status quo, but also be willing to accept status quo • Provide a clean slate- tabula rasa to myself and others • View the glass half full • Say “NO” to perfection! • Be ME; do what I love and what I am good at • Enjoy life, let me be happy! • Feel no guilt for any of the above.

What will you give yourself permission to do? Permission Granted - Cheers to our Health!

Catherine Florio Pipas January 2020