The next week she reported back. She did what I suggested and it worked out fine. She said she'd feel comfortable doing it again - in other words, to give herself permission next time. The benefits had reinforced the behaviour. This story illustrates that we sometimes need an external voice to condone our behaviour or to reinforce our desire to do something.
Permission is a form of endorsement from other people.
It's as if they're giving their blessing to a course of action that, in our heart of hearts, we want to follow but something still stops us. However, we should get past our reliance on other people. If we're to achieve the lives we envision, we need to get better at giving ourselves permission - to choose what feels right and then to act on it. It's about living according to our own values and priorities, not somebody else's. Too many people are giving up parts of their lives to fulfill other people's agendas.