June 15, 2026June 5, 2026 Linda Markley

Permission Slips

Introspection, Learning Lessons, Maslow before Blooms, overwhelmed, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher behavior, teacher burnout, teacher choices, teacher mental health, teacher self-care, teacher struggles, teacher support, teacher value, teacher vulnerability, teacher well-being, Wholehearted teaching

Do you remember when there were permission slips in school?

A permission slip is a document used by schools, clubs, or organizations to obtain formal, legal consent from a parent or guardian for a minor to participate in specific activities,

In my book, Learning Lessons, I talk about using permission slips in our daily lives in a less formal or legal way to give consent to ourselves whether or not to participate in certain activities.

I even have a “form” to fill out that looks like the picture above.

And there is more explanation in Chapter 14 of my book, pp. 115-124 on how to use these to give ourselves permission to do or not do something.

Very simple, yet powerful.

First, they raise awareness.

Secondly, they prompt action to make a choice.

And finally, they have an emotional charge behind them.

The word “permission” is related to the word “permit” which is from the Latin permittere “let pass, let go, let loose; give up, hand over; let, allow, grant, permit” 

These are all great words to describe the goal of a personal permission slip, but I want to look at the word as a compound word PER + MISSION.

When we make decisions to take action or not to take action and decide which actions to take to move forward, it helps if we ask the bigger question:

Does this action align with my values, goals and how I want to show up in the world?

Is it PER my MISSION in life?

Everything is just about choices and how we align each choice with our bigger mission in life and who we want to be and how we want to show up for ourselves and for others.

So, what permission slip(s) do you need to write yourself for today?

Teachers: What are you going to write on your SUMMER permission slips?

Then, what will you write on your SCHOOL YEAR permission slips?

Are they the same or different?

Some permission slips I write for myself are:

Even though I am struggling with getting everything done…

I give myself permission to STOP, TAKE A DEEP BREATH, CLOSE MY EYES and ALLOW the feeling of overwhelm to pass.

I give myself permission to STOP and CONNECT WITH A FRIEND by phone or text.

I give myself permission to STOP and GO FOR A WALK and SOAK IN THE BEAUTY OF MOTHER NATURE AROUND ME.

I give myself permission to STOP and WATCH A SHORT VIDEO THAT MAKES ME LAUGH.

I give myself permission to STOP and HAND OVER some of the work load to others.

I give myself  permission to STOP, LET GO and LEAVE THE REST FOR TOMORROW.

You get the idea. 

Copy the permission slip above and write at least one thing on it per day and see how your self-care grows along with your peace and calm…and productivity!

If you want to learn more about life lessons and how to handle the ups and downs and all-arounds of teaching, check out my book Learning Lessons here.

Photo credit:

Learning Lessons by Linda Markley