People are uncomfortable with freedom

To be free means to be responsible; often, when we envision freedom, we expect a life without responsibility.

It feels easier to live by someone else’s rules because then we get to blame them for our unhappiness. It feels easier to judge someone else’s life because then we get to be right about how wrong they are and don’t need to be curious about our own integrity. It feels easier to cater to the requests and needs of others because then we get to be a victim to time, and in victimhood we get power from our powerlessness.

Our minds trick us into believing that if only we could become free, we wouldn’t need to be responsible for these things. The truth is that all of the habits listed above are reactions, not responsibilities. Only when we are willing to release our reactions can we become genuinely responsible, which is what it means to be free.

What if you didn’t need commitments or constraints to go away to be free? Would you be willing to embrace the discomfort of your freedom now and take responsibility for your life?