Every December, I start to feel that familiar urge. 

You know the one…that urge to clean out drawers, buy new pens, and convince myself that this is the year that I become someone who color-codes her entire life. (It’s not going to happen. History has confirmed this. But a girl can dream.) 

This is also when I choose my Word of the Year. 

I do this every year. I pick a word that will be my focus for the next 365 days.
And y’all, this year’s word didn’t whisper.
It marched right in, sat down, crossed its legs, and said,
“So…you ready to do this?” 

My 2026 word is Permission. 

Not the kind of permission you get from a boss, a board, a committee, or that one person whose approval we keep chasing, even though they’re not actually in charge of our lives.  

I’m talking about your own permission.
The only kind that ever actually mattered in the first place. 

Why Permission? 

While I was writing my new book, The Permission Mission (coming out in March!), an image came to mind.  

Permission is like an invisible velvet rope. 

You’ve seen them dozens of times, outside VIP sections, events, fancy lounges and exclusive spaces. Soft, elegant, quietly intimidating. They say, “This area is special,” and somehow, we instantly assume we don’t belong there without permission. 

But here’s what is interesting. That velvet rope is not impenetrable. You can duck under it, step over it, or simply unhook it and walk right through. No bouncer. No clipboard. No list of approved names.  

So why do we hesitate? 

We forget that we can move it. 

We forget that we can grant ourselves the permission to pass through. 

Permission is powerful because it removes an imaginary barrier that feels very real. 

You can have the perfect plan, the right timing, the vision board, the accountability partner, and enough inspirational quotes to wallpaper your entire house and still stay stuck.

All because you’re waiting for someone else to say, “Yes, now you can go.” 

Here’s the truth most of us were never taught: Permission is self-issued. 

It’s the quiet, internal green light that says: 

  • I’m allowed to take up space. 
  • I’m allowed to want more. 
  • I’m allowed to say no. 
  • I’m allowed to change my mind. 
  • I’m allowed to try again without apologizing for the first attempt. 

Permission isn’t rebellion. It’s a responsibility. 

It’s acknowledging that:
Your life is your call.
Your boundaries are your call.
Your ambition is your call. 

When you think of permission like gently unhooking that velvet rope, the tone of your life shifts. It’s not dramatic or loud. 

Permission is intentional.

This year, I’m choosing to give myself permission to: 

  • Dream bigger without explaining myself 
  • Say no faster (and skip the ten-step guilt parade) 
  • Create space instead of filling every minute 
  • Show up as me, not the version I think I “should” be 

I want this word to stretch me. To challenge me. To nudge me when I feel myself hesitating. 

Because I do hesitate. Just like everyone else. 

Want to Play Along? 

If you’re choosing your own word, or just feeling a little stuck, start here: 

  • Where am I standing in front of a velvet rope I put up myself? 
  • What am I treating as “off limits” that really isn’t? 
  • What am I waiting for someone else to approve? 
  • What would change if I simply moved the rope and stepped forward? 

Because here’s the part we tend to forget: 

You already have the access.
You already have the power.
You already have permission. 

All that’s left is deciding to move the rope. 

So what’s one thing — just one — you’ll give yourself permission to do, stop, start, or pursue in 2026? 

Here’s to courageous choices. Kinder boundaries. Louder self-trust. 

And here’s to permission, the kind that starts and ends with you.