What is freedom?

Polish for “Why the f*k are you trying to prove anything to anyone?”

Surely, freedom has a range of very serious definition from the world’s most renowned philosophers. But you can Google them. I have a couple of ideas that might resonate with people who are practical and down-to-earth, yet enjoy making reflections on their life and values. From the feedback I am getting I am learning that it is this kind of people that enjoy reading my posts the most. Here you go :)

Freedom is one of my core values. Along with honesty, gratitude and integrity, freedom is one of my core values, driving my decisions. Thus today’s topic. I would be very interested to hear about your driving values in comments or DM’s.

Freedom is being able to say no. I am not confusing freedom and assertiveness here. An assertive person says no in a situation that might be uncomfortable (e.g. refusing to go to a friend’s wedding) yet it is perfectly possibly to not go. It is in this sense of it being possible not to go that the person is free. An assertive prisoner may not just leave the prison. I have lots of gratitude in this sense of freedom, as I often feel like I am free to do and not do lots of stuff, compared to my predecessors for example (especially women).

Freedom is the ability to not miss the stuff that you are missing. Here I am relating to the concepts of FOMO and JOMO. I know plenty of people who go to places, attend meetings, travel to certain places just because they fear that they will be an outcast if they miss out on that one. I have been this person until I have had a period in my life when because of burnout, I did not go anywhere much for around two months. I missed a couple of big parties, reunions, trips but honestly, the same events happened again in a couple of months. Nobody even noticed I was not there. Meanwhile, I took some needed rest and prioritised my own needs over anyone’s expectations. Ever since I am a proud believer in JOMO, the joy of missing out, the opposite of fear of missing out. Although I love mingling with people, whenever I have had a tough day at work I prefer to stay in or invite my closest friends rather than go out. On such days, I am very happy I no longer feel like I am missing something.

Freedom is having control over your day. This came alive to me when I had a discussion with my friend about what makes for a satisfactory job. I compared my experience of working in…