“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” - Sigmund Freud
In 1776, a nation was created by men and women aspiring for freedom, so much so that they would lay their lives on the line. This created a byproduct of responsibility. When your children headed off to college over the past several weeks, they aspired for freedom. This, too, created a byproduct of responsibility. Mommy and daddy are no longer changing your sheets, making dinner, or ensuring that you wake-up for your daily duties.
You. You, when you start a business, initiate a marketing campaign, begin a new hobby, aspire for freedom...and naturally, it creates a result of responsibility.
This is an honor, not a fear-stricken initiative. A mentor once told me, “Ed, you cannot have control without responsibility.” That maxim still resides in my heart and in my mind daily. Imagine a time and place in your life where you had responsibility without control - I bet you did not enjoy that epoch.
Many people, especially in the days of Covid, have abdicated responsibility...and as a byproduct have lost freedoms. Last week, I challenged you to monitor your lizard brain (yes, that was a pun). Meaning, to challenge you how to respond rather than react to a stimulus in your life.
This week, I challenge you to take responsibility for whatever you can over the next 7 days. Take the garbage out, do the dishes, call the client, hit the gym, take the vitamins, hit the hay earlier, and produce your work product before noon. In this ability to respond to life...you will find the byproduct of freedom.