In this episode, Joseph Sheehey—former aerospace engineer turned cannabis wellness entrepreneur, and creator of the breakout brand CURED—gave attention to a common problem most people experience which keeps them from taking the next step in their journey to true success.

Let’s say you have everything you need in your journey through life. You have the education and degrees, you have the skills and knowledge, and your path forward is clear.

But then you still have a certain feeling. The feeling you still can’t reach that goal you have in mind. No matter, it’s a feeling you can’t shake off, and it ends up hindering you from taking the next big step in your life.

You have a dream you want to pursue. But turns out, not everybody approves of your dream. The people around you would mock you and your efforts in pursuing your dream. Because of this, you feel pressured to continue your pursuit.

You have fallen into something called the Expectations Trap.

Social pressure can play a huge role in your eagerness to pursue your own path. You are subjected to what the people around you expect you to pursue. Maybe your parents wanted you to take a specific path. Maybe you noticed your friends have already reached a good position in their lives following the paths they were given. Maybe society, in general, expects you to be someone who would benefit them the most. In the same time, in the manner society is most comfortable with.

The biggest enemy of innovation is embarrassment.

You fear what the unique idea you have or the dream you pursue will only bring you embarrassment. We are all afraid of being disappointments to our families and society.

Bringing something new onto the table will always be subjected to skepticism from the general public. After all, it’s something they aren’t familiar with. So the best way for them to suppress you is by ridiculing you.

It’s always difficult to be the person who needs to make the toughest decision.

Especially if that decision involves you breaking away from social norms to achieve something that fulfills you. It may not even be just for you. It could be the next big thing that can move mankind towards its next big step in its journey of existence.

The point is, you find it difficult to pursue your goals because society has a way of keeping you in the status quo. Being an innovator, that’s not the place to be.

But here’s the thing, society is only half the obstacle.

Joseph shared a life-changing experience he had with his therapist from the past. After they heard Joseph’s troubles concerning the topic, the therapist reached into his desk and gave a card to Joseph. The therapist then said to Joseph, “You need to give this to yourself.”

On the card was a word—PERMISSION

To this day, Joseph keeps the card on his desk. He realized he needed to give himself permission to take the next big step towards his goals in life.

Give yourself permission to do what you need to do. Give yourself permission to pursue your dreams. According to Joseph, you need to trust yourself more.

“I think that everybody deep deep down believe in themselves. But when you are so conditioned by outside influences and put into boxes with rules… it’s hard to remember that we’re very capable human beings. And we’re capable of achieving ANYTHING that we actually set our minds to. For me it was just, like, I wasn’t giving myself the permission to do that.” – Joseph Sheehey

Let us know, what’s the dream you are really want to pursue, regardless of what the people around you say?