Pre-pandemic, I used to take a circuit training class at my local Y. I had a love-hate relationship with it, like I have with most strenuous exercise. I loved the strength I built from lifting the weights and freedom from back pain, but the actual exertion and sweating? Not so much. Lest you think I was some superstar in the class, I will volunteer that I would always take the modified movement offered by our instructor. Push-up hovering on toes or knees? It was knees all the way, baby.

I liked to say that I was the class’s “permission slip.” By that, I meant that because I took every modification and lifted the lightest weights, I was giving everyone else permission to do the same. Or maybe just slightly more if they wanted to feel like they were at least better than me. It felt like a public service in some respects.

Now that I exercise at home with YouTube, I don’t have the chance to be a “permission slip” in an athletic setting, one where I’m particularly good at setting and achieving a low, consistent bar. I’m forced to think about other areas of life where I might perform a public service of being less than outstanding. Maybe being human, prone to exhaustion, hunger, sadness, and overwhelm, is enough.

Performing to meet real or imagined standards is draining, so I’ll be your permission slip. Do what you do, but know that whatever it is, I’ll probably be doing it to a lesser and lower standard if I choose to do it at all. You have permission to just do the thing the way you want to do it, to the level of perfection or competency that you deem best. Like I found with my circuit training class, you’ll be surprised at the strength you’ll build and freedom you’ll discover.