It’s time to go after what you’ve always dreamed of, that thing that keeps you awake at night, your perfect vision of how to live the good life…
What is freedom?
By definition, freedom is: “The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants.”
I believe it is in human nature to want to feel free in all areas of life. There are 2 main types of freedom: External and internal. Here we are going to focus on the internal game, because if we master our inner world then we are truly free to be, do, or have anything we want. In the outside world, there are enormous amounts of things that are out of our control and we have to abide by certain rules and laws.
I’ve realized that no matter what happens in the world with politics, wars, religion, natural disasters, crimes, and laws, we can always find excuses within these limitations. True freedom comes when we decide to take responsibility for our lives regardless of the cards we have been dealt with.
Therefore, the number one thing to recognize when it comes to freedom is that we have a choice.
This is massive! It means that no matter where you came from, no matter what happened to you, no matter how poor you were, how badly you were bullied, how badly you did in School, how many insecurities you have – you literally have the choice and freedom to change any area of your life that you want to. Sound’s awesome right?
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Viktor Frankl
See: 6 Tips to Master The Freedom Lifestyle
The 4 key areas of freedom that will give you the good life!
1. Freedom from your ego
You may be wondering what I mean by this… I literally mean free to be the highest and truest version of yourself. To remove all masks, to live life fully as you know you want to deep inside. To not give a f**k what others think of you and to be your authentic self. This involves a certain level of awareness from the way most people live. The ego keeps us safe, it doesn’t like things to change, it cares what other people think, and will do anything it can to keep us living as we are.
It is noticeable that many people live on autopilot, live by the system, and abide by a set of principles and guidelines as to how we should live our lives. It’s about figuring out what truly matters to you on a fundamental level.
What makes you happy? How would you live if you only had a short time left here? What is important to you in your life?
Once you discover your purpose and live with passion you will start to experience more inner freedom, living from a place of inner peace and less from the ego.
2. Freedom of time
Time is the one single thing in life that we all have equally. Many people come from backgrounds of wealth, opportunity, and a high level of formal education. Other’s come from an upbringing of poverty, misfortune, and unfortunate life tragedies. And then there’s those in-between of course. What is true for all is that we have the same amount of time, and it is up to us how we choose to spend it.
The way we spend our time is a reflection of how and what we decide to prioritize in our lives. Take a look at your life and how you spend your days. If large amounts of your days are spent doing things that don’t fulfill you, make you happy, or move you closer to your purpose, it’s time to re-evaluate.
As a trainer, I often meet people who tell me they don’t have enough time to work out. This is complete BS and translates to “This is not really a priority for me now as other things in my life are of higher importance”. When you figure out what exactly is most important to you then this will be easier to allocate your time to those particular activities. My point is, when you value something, you will make the time for it regardless of how busy you are.
3. Freedom of money
This will be different for all people because we all have different ideas of a perfect life and how much we think we need financially to live it. The idea of unlimited money is awesome, but nowhere near necessary to still give you financial freedom.
I would recommend figuring out what you want to do in your life and how you want to live. What does your ideal day look like? If you truly get deep into this and determine what it is exactly you want, you can do the math as to how much money you need to earn to achieve that.
More often than not it’s far less than you imagine.
4. Freedom from pain and fear
Unfortunately, a lot of people live their life in a whole world of pain and internal suffering. But I strongly believe we all have the power within ourselves to change our circumstances. We may get drawn the short straw at times, we may have failure after failure, and we may go through the biggest shit storm known to man.
But what I can tell you from personal experience is that when we spend time in the present moment in gratitude, when we really appreciate the little things, and remember who we really are, there is always something to be optimistic about.
If you are working a job that you hate, in a relationship that isn’t working, or hanging around with friends who drag you down, you are not living with freedom. It comes from a fearful place of lack, that there may be nothing better, or that you don’t deserve better.
Too much time in the past and focusing on things we cannot control are some of the main reasons why people get bogged down. Looking too far forward focusing on what hasn’t happened can elicit emotions of fear and worry.
Read: Overcoming fear: Crush Your Inner Demons to Live With More Peace and Freedom
These feelings can take over to the point where we feel like we aren’t in control of our own lives. The biggest thing I suggest to live with more freedom is to spend as much time as possible in the present moment.
Focus on things to be grateful for and to use your gifts to help others in some way. Unhappiness simply cannot exist in a state of gratitude.
To conclude
Whether you want more money, better relationships, to start a business, travel the world, improve your health and fitness, or to spend all of your time following your passion, it starts with a decision from you. A decision to take responsibility, figuring out what is important to you, and taking the necessary steps towards your ideal of the good life.
When we free ourselves from suffering, become more present, and live with passion – we naturally become more successful, create more time, start living our passions, feeling a lot more fulfilled.
We all have freedom of choice. We can choose to be a victim, or we can choose to take charge and live the good life.
Some tips to help you live with more freedom:
- Spend time with people who bring out the best in you and help your growth
- Avoid negative people where possible – like energy attracts like energy
- Take responsibility for how you feel and don’t expect another person or object to make you feel a certain way
- Consider working for yourself or starting an online business to design a life around how you want to live
- Make a list of the most important things to you in your life and schedule them into your calendar
- Spend some time each day meditating and focusing on gratitude