Permission to Be You

Who are you?

The first response I often get to this question is our job titles, affiliations, and the work that we do. Yes, that too is you but who are you outside of your work?

We revolve so much of our lives around work and get our self-worth tangled directly to our jobs that we forget how to show up live our authentic selves – regardless of what we do.

What encourages you to be you?

Participants had a debate. I was one of the participants, and in this workshop, we discussed how the workplace mattered.

Unless you were in a traditionally creative space, it was too common for others to look at you weirdly for being different or too creative. I too remembered how it felt when I wanted to color coordinate my charts that my supervisor had wanted in black and white. Still, I resisted.

The workplace environment matters, but so does our own framing and mindset.

No matter how much research we do about our offices and colleagues, we cannot change them. Sure, we could influence them – but so can we of our own experiences. If I want the office to see me as me, I first have to see myself as me.

Who are you?

I want to challenge us to first give ourselves permission to be us. I’m not waiting for other people to validate me. I’m not waiting for other people to understand me. I’m first practicing how to listen, understand, encourage, and validate my own voice. It takes practice, courage, and patience to build such self-awareness. But it’s important.

We become more curious, courageous, and empathetic. We become more conscious of our surroundings and those around us. We understand building a good workplace culture is hard work, but when we learn how to love ourselves first, we begin to learn how to see others for who they are and start to appreciate and love those around us too. Culture is built by people, not by a marketing statement.