Add Freedom to Your Life by Making These 5 Easy Adjustments
Honestly, this list should have 10
There is a hidden truth that you are not willing to admit… What you are chasing is not money, it is freedom.
You don’t necessarily want to buy more.
You want to do what you want, when you want, where you want.
Now, before you say, “you need money to do that”. Let me tell you, you’re right!
But the amount of money you need is a lot less than you realize.
And on top of that, the majority of that freedom you desire, you can have today.
Intrigued yet?
1. Declutter your life
There is a good chance you feel like you have a lack of freedom simply because your life is not optimized for freedom.
What do I mean by this?
You own a house instead of rent
You have a job that keeps you in one place
You have an endless amount of obligations you don’t enjoy
Your space is cluttered
Those who have freedom can go where they want, when they want.
That means they don’t have a mortgage that they are worried about.
It also means they didn’t agree to go to that random guy’s wedding, and they aren’t working a job that is mundane.
Oh, and they clean their space.
Yes, I’m being serious!
If your space is filled with junk you do not use, it is taking away your freedom.
Go through your space and give away anything you haven’t used this year.
Now, go through your calendar and cancel everything you don’t want to do (or absolutely have to do).
2. Nurture your relationships
Please, thread a fine line when doing this. The idea is not to take advantage of your friends.
But everyone has their preferences and skills.
Some friends enjoy fixing things, others enjoy interior design, and then there’s that one guy who can fix any electronic device.
Instead of wasting hours trying to do something you don’t like or don’t necessarily know how to do, ask for help.
In exchange, you should be doing something you are good at or like doing.
Doing something you like to do, in exchange for your friend doing something they like to do, will make you both feel freer (and save time).
Not to mention it will reduce stress.
Sweet. Moving on!
3. Learn to say no
Take control of your calendar. Take control of your time. It’s time to tell people, NO!
You don’t need to go to that wedding.
You don’t need to that neighbourhood gathering.
You don’t even need to go shopping with your friend.
Stop committing your time in the future to things you don’t actually want to do. This is how you become a slave to the future and to your calendar.
You’ll be spending the present moment dreading the future moment, only to make yourself feel overall less free.
4. Prioritize health
It is hard to comprehend how much your bad health may be holding you back.
Being in poor health will lower your energy, mobility, and mental health.
This means you won’t have the energy to do the things you want, go where you want or have the mind to get you to where you want to be.
Prioritize your health if you care about your freedom.
5. Organize your finances
I’m not going to sit here and tell you that to get freedom, you need to make more money.
Chances are, it is true, but my saying that will not help you.
But you can organize your current financial situation to optimize more for freedom.
For example, is the size of the place you are living right now mandatory? Would somewhere that is $500 a month cheaper help add the necessary freedom you seek?
Or what if you sacrificed your Starbucks for a few months and put that money towards debt? Would that reduced burden help you feel freer in the future?
I understand, especially with how inflation treated us, that times are tough right now.
But we can always organize our finances a little bit better to increase the freedom in our lives.
Bonus: Move towards self-employment
It is worth mentioning that if you are an entrepreneur at heart, but are working for someone else, you will never feel free.
Not everyone can run their own business.
If you are one of those who can, though, it is worth dedicating some time to a side hustle and seeing if you can build it into legitimate income.
You’ll have less spare time at first, but over time, you can optimize that business for freedom, which will help you significantly.
To wrap it up
I go back and forth between freedom and constantly working.
“It’s more like a lion hunting and less like a marathoner running. You sprint and then you rest. You reassess and then you try again. You end up building a marathon of sprints.” — Naval
I like to work hard, and then relax and enjoy the freedom.
However, this might not work for you. You have to find what method works best for you.
The only way to do this is to experiment!
Thanks for reading