The freedom to be better…

“Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better.”

Albert Camus

The 4th of July is THE American holiday. It is a time when we get together with friends and family and celebrate our nation’s birth and the freedoms we enjoy with cookouts and fireworks. However, it is so easy to take those freedoms for granted. Perhaps today should be more than barbecue and outdoor fun. Today is an opportunity to reflect on the chance you have to choose to be a better person. Our Freedom wasn’t free, and we should leave the world a better place than when we arrived. Happy Freedom to “be better” day!

man with fireworks
Photo by Rakicevic Nenad on Pexels.com

Are you seeking freedom for self, or for others?

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Nelson Mandela

“Live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

How much of our lives do we consume worried about our freedoms? Our needs? Our wants? What percentage of time do you spend on others?  

How much should you spend?

Boldly free…

“Freedom lies in being bold.”

Robert Frost

It is amazing how much energy can be wasted on time spent worrying and doubting. It is equally amazing how clarifying and liberating it can be when a decision has been made and action is taken.

So, when in doubt make the decision. Take decisive action. Do the thing you know needs to be done. True freedom only follows action and boldness. If you make the wrong decision, you can always make another one.

You just might find that true freedom is simply the ability to make a choice.

Free to grow…

“Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.”

Albert Camus

If you could choose to be better at one thing, just one thing, what would it be?

What is preventing you from doing it?

If you have the freedom to define your need for growth then you have the freedom to implement the actions that enable that growth. Embrace your freedom and choose to grow…

Accept and learn…

“If you let your past control your present, then you will never have a future.”

Suzie Davis

“Learn from the past, but don’t live from it” is some advice that a very wise person once gave to me. Easy to say, harder to do day in and day out.

It is easier to let the past define you if you look at the future through the lens of what has been instead of what could be. How do you change this? Learn to accept that what has happened is well and solidly behind you, there is NOTHING that you can do to change it. However that doesn’t mean that you are allowed to forget it or ignore that it happened.

The key to the future you WANT to create is to ask yourself one question every day. “What did I do today, or learn from today, that I can use to build my tomorrow?”

Your past doesn’t define you, unless you let it…

Freedom…

“The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free.”

John F. Kennedy

Freedom to be right…

Freedom to be wrong…

Freedom to worship…

Freedom to choose…

Thank God for our Freedoms…

Freedom… It wasn’t, and isn’t, free at all…

What your problem isn’t, and what it is…

“Let me take some pressure off. Your problem is not discipline. Your problem is not organization. Your problem is not that you have yet to stumble upon the perfect schedule. And your problem is not that the folks at home demand too much of your time. The problem is this: there’s not enough time to get everything done that you’re convinced—or others have convinced you—needs to get done.”

Andy Stanley

Sometimes I read a quote and it just hits me between the eyes.  This is one of those.  Let me start by saying that Andy Stanley is one of my absolute favorites.  He has a special gift and if you ever get a chance to hear him speak please take full advantage of it.  He is exceptional.

There’s not enough time.  Period.  End of story.  It just can’t all be done.  When you come to terms with this fact it is liberating.  Give up the feeling of failure and insufficiency and and instead embrace the feeling of control, define what is most important and say yes to only those things.  Easy to say but oh so hard to do.  

I know that the challenge for me is figuring out just how close to the edge I can walk without falling over. I need to be uncomfortably close to the limit in order to feel challenged and inspired.  I must be stretched in order to grow.  The question that I am really pondering right now is whether or not I am choosing the right things to stretch for  Not only do we need to say “no,” we need to choose the right “yes’s.”  

 

FREEDOM!!

“Being proactive is more than taking initiative. It is recognizing that we are responsible for our own choices and have the freedom to choose based on principles and values rather than on moods or condition. Proactive people are agents of change and choose not to be victims, to be reactive, or to blame others.”

Stephen Covey

Today in the United States we are celebrating our Independence Day.  The day where our Founding Fathers made a conscious choice to be responsible for the course of our independent nation. They chose the direction and were responsible for the creation of the principles and values that would set our path as a republic for centuries to come.

The freedom to choose is one of our greatest gifts in life. I love this particular quote because it sums up so neatly the importance of living a life of active choices.  Once you have clearly identified your values and principles one can live a life of freedom.  It isn’t always easy to make the choices that align to your values.  In fact, sometime they are the hardest ones to make.  However, when we have a framework we aren’t relegated to being the product of other’s choices, we are freely choosing our path in life.  

As we celebrate freedom today take a moment to reflect on what freedom to choose means in your life.  

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dusty

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