Member-only story
Doing It “Your Way” Doesn’t Have to Be Antagonistic
It’s about trusting yourself
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…