Reading Time: 3 minutes So often we want permission to do, be or have something and when we do not get permission (or assume that we will not) we settle for something else.  We betray our own soul in an effort to keep from disappointing someone else.

There is no shame in wanting to meet someone else’s expectations. We all do it, it feels good to have someone express that they are happy with our work, or pleased with something we’ve done, or approving of some choice we’ve made. Most of us have had a desire to be acknowledged and validated practically from the time we were born.

But when we meet other people’s expectations at the expense of fulfilling our own dreams and desires we are not truly free. We can become trapped in a web of needing approval and permission.