🧿 It's easier to beg forgiveness than to ask for permission

 

The statement implies that permission should be asked before proceeding with the action you plan to do. Your action somehow crosses a boundary that would be a concern to the person you would eventually need to ask forgiveness from.

Not asking permission when you know you should ask permission is a willful and premeditated act. You have thought about it beforehand and you made the decision not to ask permission.

I'd say it's better to ask permission first rather than taking the easy way. It is also deceptive. The course of action creates distrust. And you devalue the person when you choose not to ask permission.

When you ask forgiveness for something when you could have asked permission first, your apology is empty. You really aren't sorry for what you did. You are glad you did it. You feel justified in doing it. You did it without consideration of the person you would hurt or the boundary you would cross. You are really not asking forgiveness at all.

It would be better to care enough to ask permission.