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Doing It “Your Way” Doesn’t Have to Be Antagonistic

It’s about trusting yourself

Andy Taylor
3 min readMay 1, 2022
A young man in a yellow t shirt works at his desk with a cheerful look of determination on his face
Photo by Julia M Cameron: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-yellow-crew-neck-t-shirt-while-using-tablet-4144096/

I had an unusual comment on one of my articles about food and weight. It thanked me for giving permission for people to do things their own way.

And I thought…

“Who am I to give anyone permission to do anything?”

I’m just me. No-one needs mine (or anyone else’s) permission to find their own path. But, then I reflected on the context of the article and the comment (it was a response to a section about the diet and health industry) and it did occur to me:

All the time, we’re being told what to do.

Governments, advertisers, influencers on social media, self-improvement books, articles, podcasts, friends, family and, of course, the most powerful voice of all… the voice in our own head (which is often an unhelpful amalgam of the whole list at the start of this sentence).

Diet culture is particularly bad in this regard. If anyone followed all “the rules” as espoused in every different book, plan, or system being thrown at them… they’d end up in a complete mess (and probably less healthy than when they started).

The problem is that we’re not being asked. Or even politely being invited to consider. We’re…

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Andy Taylor
Andy Taylor

Written by Andy Taylor

I want to learn. I try to grow. I’d love to help.

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