you have permission to be imperfect

“You Have Permission to Be Imperfect”

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned to twist and contort ourselves to be more likable, more pleasing, more perfect. I remember doing this as a little girl—squeezing myself into shapes that weren’t really mine. Holding my breath, both literally and figuratively, in hopes of being accepted and loved—but mostly, as a means for survival (unbeknownst to me). That kind of tension doesn’t just vanish. It finds its way into the body, into the nervous system, into the way we speak to ourselves, and how we show up in relationships.

What if, instead, we could turn toward the younger version of ourselves, the little kid still living inside, and say: You have permission to be imperfect. You don’t have to get it right all the time. You don’t have to know what to do. You don’t have to be okay. You just get to be.

That kind of inner permission creates space. It softens old knots of shame and pressure. It allows energy to move. And from that place, something beautiful can happen—we become more forgiving. Not just of ourselves, but of the people we love. We stop demanding perfection from our partners, our friends, and even our own healing. We start to recognize that love and growth thrive in the presence of grace, not performance.

Give yourself permission today. Permission to mess up, to rest, to say no, to need support. Let that permission be a kind of medicine, like a balm for the child in you who never got to exhale... You don’t need to be perfect anymore.
And when you offer this to yourself, you make it easier to offer it to others. That’s how healing ripples outward—through compassion, through softness, through the radical act of being human together. Have a great week.

-Czarina