My Journey Through Self Love

Chapter 15 - Limiting Belief 3 - I Need Permission to Be Happy and Have Fun

Limiting Belief: I believe I need permission to be happy and have fun (I can't have fun until I've proven that I'm worthy of it).

It's always been hard for me to have fun because it always feels like there's work I have to do instead, or there's certain things I have to worry about first (like my grades, my career, or my entire future), before I can truly be happy.

My family has always pushed me to focus my attention on work and school, with little room to focus on anything else (like hanging out with friends, being in relationships, having different experiences, etc.). When I was younger I was able to make room for fun. But as I got older, fun would always be interrupted with work, chores, or family obligations. It would also be interrupted by emotional abuse or people abandoning me. Even if I did have fun, it was limited to a certain amount of hours. And there were certain fun things that I wanted to do but couldn't due to financial strains. So overtime I assumed that I had to get permission to have fun or that fun was scarce. Otherwise I was expected to get work done and I expected bad things to happen that would limit the amount of fun I could have.

Flipping the Script: I don't need permission to be HAPPY and have fun. I may have responsibilities I need to take care of but I can always make room for fun.

While my responsibilities are important, they don't have to overshadow my ability to enjoy life. I can integrate moments of fun and relaxation into my daily routine without neglecting my duties. I can also incorporate fun in times of stress.

It can be simple things I can do during my breaks like listening and singing along to my favorite music. Or I could watching funny videos, read my favorite books, listen to my favorite podcasts, or even play with my dog. I could go to the movies with my sister, or go to lunch with my family, or even throw a dance party by myself. There's an ENDLESS amount of things I can do to energize me and invite more fun into my life, and it doesn't have to cut into me getting my work done. I can also use fun to help me cope with stress.

Having fun ISN'T a distraction or an award I have to "earn" by working hard and achieving something first. It's my birthright as a human being and it's very important to my mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.

Fun may come and go, but that's ok. There's a time to play and there's a time to rest, and there's a time to work.