Are you Free?

  Many people have heard repeatedly that freedom isn’t free and then some diatribe about our military. . As some of you know I am a medically retired Army Ranger with 4 combat deployments and a laundry list of injuries, but this is not about our military or our founders or being grateful to others for our freedom. I’ve spent decades reflecting on liberty and the idea of freedom and I believe that the more people understand the source of their freedoms, the more meaningful their lives will be. Freedom is like water and we are all fish. We do not appreciate it until we’ve lost it and then desperately struggle to live a free life again. We easily recognize the physical loss of freedom but rarely identify how we’ve caged ourselves mentally and given our freedom away to others.

Libertas per facultas de diligencia cum invicem

I keep that platitude at the header of my daily reflections.

Some of you may have seen this on my signature line if you received an e-mail from me. This blog explains why it is the root of manifesting your dreams.

Are You Free? I’m not…yet.

Knowledge equals power, right?

And with great power comes great responsibility, right?

Unfortunately, neither of those platitudes are true. Knowledge is only power if you use it and use it effectively. Responsibility doesn’t come with power, though it should. People do not automatically take responsibility just because they’ve gained power, whether that power was given to them or they attained it. It should be rephrased as “with great power should come great responsibility.”  The interesting thing about that saying however is that the inverse is the truth. Responsibility does not come with power, however by taking responsibility we do gain power.

What is power? Power is the ability to do something. When you take responsibility for your actions you’ve immediately empowered yourself. You have acknowledged that you have control over yourself and how you shape your life. You acknowledge that you have the ability to shape your life. It immediately allows you to identify exactly what you do have the ability to do and what you don’t. You will never have control over your external environment, but you will always have control over how you respond to it. It allows you to immediately begin focusing on what you can do rather than what you can’t.

Rights ≠ Freedom  … Ability = Freedom

So, what does this have to do with freedom and Independence Day? Just as knowledge isn’t power unless you use it, rights aren’t freedoms unless you use them and if you don’t have the ability to exercise your rights due to a physical, cognitive or psychological inability then you do not have that freedom. It’s called the Bill of Rights not the Bill of Freedoms for a reason. Which means:

Having freedom is entirely based on ability. Our freedoms as a society as well as our personal freedoms in life exist because our forebearers and ourselves have chosen to work towards gaining the ability for those freedoms. Every choice takes some level of courage. Even the simple ones that we don’t notice anymore but at some point in our lives we needed to have courage to make that choice. I watch my 7-year-old have to deal with so many things in life that are immensely stressful to him because he hasn’t gained the courage yet to deal with those situations. Those courageous choices expand his abilities and freedoms though. You were probably scared the first time you went to school or daycare. As you grew up and attended school you gained cognitive ability which provided you certain freedoms when you exercise it. It took courage to take your first steps and to run for the first time. Many people run regularly and gained the freedom to go out their door and explore their surrounding area without being restricted to a vehicle and roads. Some of us had to regain that ability as adults after losing it at some point in our adolescence.

The ability to make a choice is useless if constructive choices aren’t made. Doing nothing is a choice. That book you didn’t read, the project you didn’t start, the thing you didn’t say, the help you didn’t offer or walk you didn’t take. Having a right or an ability to do something means nothing if you do not exercise it. Ideas are worthless, philosophies on how to have a higher quality of life mean nothing, execution is everything. 

Choices are our responsibility. The source of all freedom begins with choosing to take responsibility for every choice we make and don’t make in life. So, understanding that the source of all freedom is attained by first taking responsibility for your life is the first step to a greater life. By doing this we immediately gain power. How? You accept the situation as it is and acknowledge that it is up to you to either change yourself or change the situation. When you take responsibility for something it sets into motion the amazing cognitive processes that have been gifted to us through millions of years of evolution, the problem-solving processes that ask the question of “how”

Have courage, take initiative. We have the option to exercise and improve our physical and mental ability, but do you choose to use this ability?  Courage is a skill that can be trained the same as anything else. Challenge your fears every day by making choices that your afraid of. Begin with the small ones and your ability to take on the larger ones will grow over time. Just like you did when you were a child daily testing your fears to explore the world.

I’ve known some very brave men in my time serving in the military. However, as brave as so many people seem, you find that they have certain areas in their lives that they still harbor fears. They may not be afraid to run towards gunfire, but they can’t do public speaking, or they are afraid of failure or perhaps being unknown. We all have fears we can confront, to work towards an unfettered mind and a better life.

Steps to increase your Freedoms.

1.     Take responsibility for all events that occur in your life.

2.     Exercise courage and challenge your fears daily, expanding your comfort zone.

3.     Focus your efforts to expand your skills/abilities in the areas you need/want

4.     Repeat

Congratulations you’ve increased your personal freedom.

Freedom to go wherever I please by foot or vehicle, freedom to speak my mind, and freedom to protect my life, liberty and happiness is all about my ability; psychologically, cognitively, socially and physically. Ability is the basis for independence and for power. Ability is only gained through focused, persistent action with the assistance and guidance of others. This is how we empower ourselves. 

Freedom by ability through diligence with each other

Myself and all of the Altus staff wish each and every one of you a freedom filled weekend. May you exercise your rights but more importantly exercise your freedoms this weekend so that you can remember with gratitude what a luxury each one of them is.