Publisher - January 2026

Photography by
Cassidy Dunn Photography

“I give myself permission
to be all that I can be,
and I deserve the
very best in life.”
— Louise Hay —

The New Year has always been an iffy time for me—kind of happy, kind of sad. For years I was overweight, so January was the month to give myself extra beatings and set unrealistic goals that I could never achieve. Every year, I would get out a new calendar, write my current weight down on the 1st of January and then set weight goals for every Friday. The first week I would set the goal at five pounds down because, you know, that “water” weight comes off quickly. Then, each week would count down two pounds at a time. I’m not sure if I ever made it beyond week two—maybe week one. It was a proven-to-fail method that I did over and over again. In hindsight, I just have to wonder why.

Well, I’ll tell you why. Though I despised being overweight, I believe deep down inside, the weight was protecting me from any possible failures in my life—it was my excuse if I fell short of being great. It was also my excuse to focus on everyone and everything except myself. I made myself “good” in other ways. I was a great cook; my house was pretty; I served on volunteer boards; I signed up for committees; and I wore stunning shoes. But in all that, I also let people run over me; I worked like a machine; my life felt like a non-stop assembly line; I valued myself for what I could do and how good I did it. But I totally ignored the value of who I was (and am) beyond my “doing.” I never gave myself permission to be me and like it.

I remember I was so bogged down in the grind of it all, I randomly bought a book titled, Permission to Party while browsing in a bookstore one day. I wasn’t throwing a party at the time, but the book was colorful, fun, and it gave me permission to party and maybe find joy, which at that point in my life, I was having a hard time doing. I don’t think I was depressed, I was merely lost. I wasn’t living in alignment with who I really am, and I’ve learned this is a real problem. In fact, it can cause anxiety, stress, anger, mood swings, resentment—most of the yucky stuff.

So, my New Year’s thought processes for years now have been: How can I better live in alignment with who I really am? And I’m getting much better at it! But this year, I want to add something to it—a freedom, permission. You see, I was attending the Blue Zones program in December at Hilton Head Health (read all about it on page 13) and that word “permission” came up. It’s been years, but my mind raced back to the Permission to Party book and continued to ponder about what I needed to give myself permission to do this year. In other words, what am I holding myself back from? Here are some permissions I came up with, and feel free to borrow and use them as often as needed. I am writing them in true permission slip style to make it all very official.

I give myself (and you) permission to try something new this year. As many great things as I get to do, I find myself often being held back by fear. One of those things is painting. I have always been creative and artistic, but I subconsciously forbid myself the freedom to create. I bought watercolor paints six months ago and haven’t painted a thing yet. Why? Because I fear it may not be good, of course. So perhaps the permission isn’t to try new things, it’s to try things no matter if you’re good at it or not. Ok. So, I give myself (and you) permission to do and try things, regardless if we are good at it or not. This is starting to feel like freedom!

I give myself (and you) permission to “Be Still”. For goodness sake, take a rest. Maybe some of you are good at this, but I’m not. I feel like if I’m not doing something, I’m wasting time. My mother was this way. The only time she ever sat down was to eat supper, play cards with friends, sew, drive, or watch Dallas on Friday nights. Otherwise, she was doing. Why couldn’t I take after Dad on this one? “Mr. Archie Bunker” had no problem sitting down and reading the newspaper, then moving to his chair in the den to watch TV, followed by retiring to the bedroom for good night’s sleep. As much as Mom was doing for all of us, he was counter-balancing it by simply doing him. Most women have a difficult time claiming their downtime (with good reason thanks to societal norms). I’m giving myself (and you) permission to claim your downtime to do anything you want to do and enjoy it. Breathe, we can do this!

I give myself (and you) permission to adore ourselves. I actually really like who I am; I enjoy my own company, but I downplay myself all the time. It’s too easy to pummel ourselves in our own minds—all the negativity that bounces around our neurons and interferes with our synapses just running around our brains like a big bully calling us names and pointing out our flaws whether it’s true or not. No wonder it’s difficult to look in the mirror and love what you see. The next time you look in the mirror, don’t look at your stomach or thighs or wrinkles or pimples, look into your eyes and see YOU—beautiful, special, talented, smart, kind, compassionate, sassy, YOU. Whatever your best traits are, connect with them through your eyes and honor them. Honor what you have been through and acknowledge it all—the fun, the special, the love, the hurt, the anger, the sadness—that is glowing and brewing inside. I give myself (and you) permission to acknowledge all of it, and to let some of the old wounds go. Some of what’s balled up inside us no longer serves us. It’s simply there to make sure the old wounds never completely heal, and that is why it can be so difficult to find joy.

Lastly, I give myself (and you) permission to find joy in everything we do. It’s in there, and it wants permission to party!

Happy New Year and please come to the January Pink Partini (click here for details) and be sure to join the brand-new Pink Magazine Book Club (click here for details). They’re both going to be joy-full!

Think Pink,
Elizabeth Millen