Rethink: What does it really mean to be free?
On freedom, responsibility and the power of living within limits
Dear Rethinkers,
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the notion of ‘freedom.’ Is it a power, principle, a state, a right or a privilege? Perhaps it’s an ideal that means something different to different groups of people. And within this difference lies intolerance.
Lately, freedom has taken on a new meaning, particularly in the context of work. The rise of remote work and flexibility has shifted not just how we define ‘freedom at work’ but more generally. But has freedom become misunderstood?
Please take a moment to think about these four questions:
Do you feel free?
When do you feel free?
When do you not feel free?
Who do you think is not free?
These questions can bring up some pretty powerful emotions.
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his famous Four Freedoms Speech, in which he put forward four fundamental rights that everyone should enjoy.
Those freedoms were:
Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Worship
Freedom of Want (an interesting one)
Freedom of Fear
Timeless principles. I wonder, what else would you personally add to the list?
Here is a subtle but critical difference between how we think about freedoms:
Free from debt. Free from a bad person in your life. Free from stuff you don’t need. Free from illness or condition. Free from violence. Free from tyranny or injustice.
And once free FROM the above we can be free TO….
Free to be creative. Free to take risks. Free to ask for what we want. Free to spend time with loved ones.
Read on to find out about the paradox of freedom, and why we have to work within limits in order to be truly free.