What does freedom mean to you?

Freedom is talked about a lot these days and can be a divisive word and concept. I can’t remember a time when it aroused so many conflicting responses. But maybe I wasn’t paying attention. Freedom seems like it has an obvious definition. But when you think about all of its contexts, it is pretty complicated. What does freedom mean to you?

 

In society

Last week, I was reading a newsletter from Baratunde Thurston. I’m a big fan of his. Here’s a link to his website if you want to check him out. He’d been in Europe and was noticing how different cultures value different types of freedom. In America, individual rights are one of the highly valued rights that we have and expect. He went on to talk about other freedoms that people might have or want, or that may be more the norm in other countries, such as “the social freedom to coexist with others in peace; the economic freedom to spend time on activities other than work; the emotional freedom to gather in a square without worrying about an active shooter.” It certainly made me think.

 

With ourselves

And then there are the other freedoms that are more about our relationship with ourselves. The tagline for PSYCH-K® is “free your mind”. The intent is that if you can free your subconscious mind from the beliefs that do not support your conscious goals, you gain the freedom to make decisions and choices based on what you want rather than what you don’t want. Fear-based choices and behaviors don’t feel good – they cause stress and keep people from living the fullest life that they can.

 

Some examples

For example, I see lots of people who discover that they have a fear of success. It can show up as procrastination or other forms of self-sabotage. Generally, it seems to be related to subconscious beliefs that either success will cost too much in some way, or that it is not deserved. Here are a few ways it can cost too much (note – I’m talking about subconscious beliefs here, not your conscious ones):

• You believe that to be successful, you need to work hard, long hours and you aren’t willing to sacrifice that much time and take it away from other priorities in your life.
• You believe it isn’t safe to be visible or heard and you aren’t willing to risk your safety.
• You have a complicated relationship with money and have a belief that it isn’t okay to have too much money.
• You have a belief that your priorities and goals are not as important as those of others, so you don’t risk impacting the success of others.

 

Freedom to choose

There are so many ways we become hostage to our subconscious beliefs. What I have noticed in myself and others is that once you start changing those beliefs, you feel freer, lighter. You actually get to make choices based on what you want vs what you fear. The stress goes down. You start to achieve your goals – and it doesn’t take the same amount of time or effort that you were spending before.

 

Do you want to be free?

Nothing is more satisfying to me than helping people access that freedom. If you’re feeling constrained in some way, I’d be happy to help you break loose. You can book a session here.