Thinking is the Mother of Freedom
Discerning thought is the one thing that separates us more than anything else from all of God's creatures. Our min
ds are a vast bastion of freedom that no person can restrict without our permission.
And while it is a sad statement that we have become a society in which free thought receives a lot of lip service but very little actual support, that discussion is only relevant to those who choose to think for themselves. Few do.
The greatest threat to freedom is not oppression by others, it is the self-suppression of our own minds. This suppression characterizes itself in three forms: Habit, Fatigue, and Compliance.
Habits are useful for humans. Man is a creature of habit. Habits make life predictable which is essential in complex world with so many variables. But habits can be harmful as well. While we all have habits we should change, the habit of not thinking as a free man or woman should be at the top of the list.
When was the last time you truly thought like a free man or woman? Perhaps it was as long ago as your childhood. What were you going to do with your life before you were worn down by experience and necessity? What is it that you secretly wish to do now, if you only had the freedom to do it? Brian Tracy asks, "What one thing would you do if you knew you could not fail?" He goes on to ask, "Why aren't you doing it?"
The only place of true freedom is in one's mind. This year, exercise the freedom of your mind by thinking of what you would do if you knew you couldn't fail. Then think about how you can go about doing it.
We all succumb to fatigue. But what makes us most fatigued is one simple phrase: "Have to". How many times in a day do you "have to" do something? We "have to" go to work. We "have to" pick up the kids. We "have to" make dinner. Fatigue should be experienced because we've fully spent the freedom we enjoy, not because we've burned up the hours in "have to" activities.
When exercising your freedom of thought this year, use it to make those things you do free choices as well. Replace "have to" with "get to" and see how different you feel. Imagine the joy of "getting to" pick up the kids after school. Many parents don't have the privilege. Best of all, when "have to" becomes "get to" you just might find some of those "have to" activities aren't all that necessary.
Perhaps no other thing we experience is so defeating as compliance. Whether political correctness or family and peer pressure, we all comply with others to some extent. Compliance is good in that it provides common ground from which we all can prosper and be free. But everyone suffers when we comply in an attempt to appease others.
We all know people who had dreams and aspirations that were thwarted by well-meaning family and friends who cautioned them against their dreams. What fantastic new services or products have been kept from us by this type of compliance? Countless are the thought-provoking, idea generating ideas that have been held back due to fear of failure, success, or scrutiny of others. How devastating it is to the free mind to hold back ideas and beliefs.
There was a time when men and women said what they meant and meant what they said. That was a time of thought-provoking ideas. Today we may say what we think but don't think about what we say. More often than not we're reciting our lines or those of someone we listen to often. We comply with ideas instead of investigating them and seeking our own. We become involved in the conversation before we investigate what the conversation is about.
This year, commit to thinking through things that matter to you. Decide that you will be well-versed in those things and you'll stay out of those that don't matter to you. Things happen and are reported far too quickly to be an instant expert on everything. Think before you speak, but speak once you've thought.
To be truly free, one must think like a free person. Free people resist bad habits. Free people "get to" do things and limit those things they "have to" do. And free people rarely comply unless they have thought through things first and make a conscious choice to comply.
Free people are open to new ideas, especially those of their own thinking.
Are You Willingly Giving Away Your Freedom?
As we celebrate our nation's 233rd birthday this July 4, it is important to remember that our freedom came at a heavy price. Men and women who personally sacrificed and continue to sacrifice to provide us with liberty should be thanked and remembered in reflective thought and prayer. We are truly blessed to live in this most favored nation.
Yet every day we continue to sacrifice the freedom we have been so graciously provided. While each day we debate how current or past political climes have diminished our freedom, it is not the purpose of this writing. It is time to take a serious look at our individual freedom and how we willingly give it away when we become dependent upon a job. According to a recent article Why Americans hate their jobs, "A majority of Americans now say they are unhappy at work." (The Week January 7, 2010)
The greatest loss of freedom in America happens on Monday morning. Millions of people climb into their cars and funnel into the rat race. There they fight and struggle to maintain a lifestyle they have built based on the income provided by the job they have selected. Whether by ignorance, influence, or indifference, most employees have built an invisible yet totally effective cage they now live in. They are imprisoned by their jobs, trapped by the need to provide for a family and maintain a lifestyle.
The idea that each person is free is long forgotten. Each week many will fear the loss of "their job" not realizing it isn't theirs, it belongs to the employer and he or she has full control over who will own "their job". Sadly, many will find that even their employer has little or no control over who will stay and who will go as companies we never imagined would go out of business disappear from the landscape. Circuit City went from good to great to gone leaving thousands unemployed.
There is hope. We still enjoy individual freedom in this country and we should exercise our freedom with great vigor. We are free to choose where and if we will work and we're free to create our own work should we choose. Here are four steps to ensure you maintain your freedom:
- Find your passion. What is it that you were uniquely designed to do? Many will have to spend hours sifting through the years of work they have done for the money to get to the essence of who they really are. Everyone has a purpose. What is yours?
- Remember that you are the CEO of your own personal services corporation. You have the option to choose to sell your services to one client (your employer) or to open up your own shop to serve many. Entrepreneurship is the single greatest tool to ensure independence. The first step is to realize that you are already in business for yourself. Who do you choose as your customer?
- Examine your current line of work to find an opportunity. While you may not believe your current work is your passion, there is likely a good reason you chose to work in the field you are in. Is there a place where your passion and your experience intersect? That's where opportunity lies!
- Exercise your freedom. Don't remain trapped by the current situation. Think of the countless hours you likely waste each week that could be put to good use developing your own business that will provide added income, opportunity, and freedom.
Every person in the United States (the world for that matter) should approach his or her work as a business owner. How well are you using the resources you currently possess? Everyone has time, talent, knowledge, experience, expertise, passion, and property they can leverage to create greater value for their customer(s). That may mean becoming more valuable at your current job or opening a small business to serve others.
Honor the sacrifice made on your behalf by those men and women who provided you with freedom by approaching your work as a business owner. When you work at a job for one employer, give it your very best. No one ever created a better life by giving it anything less. You made the choice to work where you work. Remember that you are selling your services to your employer. You receive both money and experience as payment for your services. Learn how to do your work better than before and your services will be more valuable to your current employer, future employers, and future clients.
Treat your work as a business, and treat your business as an opportunity. Entrepreneurship is the greatest exercise of freedom.