Permission Granted
By Tana M. Mann Easton, Lead Efficiency Engineer
I’m fascinated by stories of people who march to the beat of their own drums. They are counter-cultural and go against the grain of normal societal pressures; and in doing so, they create a new path for other people to follow. When I encounter an example of even one person who has traveled the path I intuitively feel is mine as well, their paved path lessens my anxiety and gives me permission in my own mind to walk that trail too.
For example, Alicia Keys made news because she decided to stop wearing make-up (Pamela Anderson is also making headlines for this recently). A man would never make headlines for not wearing make-up, so the fact that Alicia Keys did shows that there is a societal norm that she was facing. She didn’t like being told how she should look and she thinks she (and all people) is beautiful without make-up (I whole-heartedly agree), so she just decided to stop wearing it. I’ve never been very interested in cosmetics, so when I saw Alicia’s story, it gave me permission to not worry about make-up either. My mind thinks, “If Alicia Keys can go on a red carpet or on TV without make-up, then I can go about my much more private and mundane life without wearing it too.” Alicia Keys’ story said, “Permission granted!”
In the weeks ahead, I’m going to share some of the stories I’ve found helpful to follow my most intuitive path even if it’s against societal norms. My hope is that for anyone who doesn’t feel they want to follow the norms that society teaches, these stories will liberate you and show you an alternative path as they have done for me.
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Sincerely Yours,
Focus to Evolve Team