“Freedom in its own right doesn’t take on meaning. It’s like ‘culture’—it’s only when it’s applied to ‘freedom from…’ or ‘freedom to…’”
Daniel Greenwald
It’s a frequently discussed topic: freedom. Many people claim it’s their ultimate goal. But, is it really? Because you could up and quit your job, walk away from all of your responsibilities, say goodbye to all of the relationships in your life, venture into the nearest forest and be completely, “free.”
But, I suspect you won’t be happy for very long.
Which is why, as Daniel outlines so brilliantly above, we have to give “freedom” specific context. Context that allows “freedom” to take on a shape and/or gives it deeper meaning that will lead us to what we’re really after… a long-term, deeply felt, constantly renewing source of joy.
And an excellent way to give freedom context is by specifying what it is *exactly* that you want freedom from and/or what it is you crave the freedom to do. I suspect, if you spend even 15 minutes filling in the blanks as honestly as you can… you might just bring to light a vision of freedom that doesn’t feel so blurry and far-fetched after all.
For example, does “financial freedom” equate to some arbitrary seven digit number that you copy and pasted into your head from somebody else’s mind? Because what you might realize is that what you really want is, “freedom from work that sucks” or “the freedom to work only 20 hours per week (so you can spend the rest of your time doing whatever you want).”
…And you don’t need seven figures to do either one of those now do you?