I want higher-level freedom
I want higher-level freedom.
Most people settle for surface-level freedom,
The authors of the book “10X Is Easier Than 2X” explain that surface-level freedom is freedom from.
Higher-level freedom is freedom to.
In all areas of life, pursuing surface-level freedom keeps us stuck.
For example, many years ago, I discovered a profound insight in regard to my faith in Christ: The ultimate goal is not to avoid sin.
The Westminster Catechism says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” “Chief end” is another way of saying “the ultimate goal.”
Freedom from sin is surface-level freedom.
High-level freedom is enjoying and delighting in God.
Here are four insights I’ve had recently about freedom to:
1. Higher-level freedom is more motivating
I said earlier that freedom from keeps us stuck. That’s because it is not very motivating, whereas freedom to is highly motivating.
For example, focusing on getting out of debt is surface-level freedom. It’s likely a good thing to do, But it’s more motivating to have in mind what being out of debt will free you to do.
2. Freedom comes with constraints
Many wrongly assume that freedom means being unbounded.
But the highest level of freedom is choosing what constrains you.
For example, we think not needing to work will give us life-giving freedom, but not working actually makes us miserable.
The highest form of freedom is choosing what you’re working on and who you’re working for.
3. Delight, enjoyment, and wants are crucial
Wanting things isn’t nice or dangerous. It is absolutely crucial.
I’ll try not to rant about this too much, but people of faith often do themselves a disservice by believing that too much want, desire, or enjoyment is bad.
I’m going to call on Lewis again because I deeply resonate with his insight,
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.”
Humanity’s problem isn’t that we have too much desire; it’s that we desire lesser things that can’t give life. Our desire for these lesser things keeps us from the fullness of life we could have.
Our wants and desires scare us, but choosing not to want much isn’t the answer. The answer is to want better things with greater intensity.
More want, more desire, more longing for higher-level freedom is what we all need.
4. Freedom is a choice
We don’t obtain freedom; freedom is a choice.
Many of us choose to stay stuck because we believe high-level freedom is a fantasy and a pipe dream.
Life is hard, and things often don’t go our way. Choosing freedom doesn’t mean that life won’t disappoint us or that obstacles won’t stand in our way.
Choosing high-level freedom means pursuing our wants and desires however we can, no matter how many times we fail, despite the obstacles, and sometimes, contrary to how we may feel in the moment.
For the most part, freedom isn’t a destination; it’s a mode of operating. We can choose to pursue our desires or not.
Questions to ask yourself
Here’s a question for you to consider: “Am I pursuing higher-level freedom?”
If not, why not?
We can and probably should apply this question to various areas of our lives. I shared how the pursuit of higher-level freedom has been helpful in my faith, but it can also be helpful in:
Marriage and family life - In what ways do you want to freely give, love, and serve those around you? What’s in your way? How can you press toward those desires more?
Creativity - What would you love to make? What are the perceived obstacles? How could you get started today?
Business and finances - What would you love to do if you had the resources to do it? How could you earn the income needed to do the things you want to do? What sacrifices would you need to make to be free to?
Final thought: priorities matter
As nice as it would be to have everything we want, sometimes we have to choose what we want most.
Though it’s good to consider what we want in various areas of our lives, it’s also wise to prioritize because higher-level freedom usually involves sacrifice.
For example, I’m not willing to sacrifice my faith or my desired family life to pursue financial goals. I’ll try my best to figure out how my desires in various areas of my life can work together in harmony, but sometimes, we have to sacrifice desires in one area of life to pursue our most valuable freedom to.
But it’s important to know what we want so that we can make a choice. “I’m choosing this over this” makes us proactive players and keeps us engaged in our lives. The alternative is passivity and pessimism as we depressingly drift along the tides of life.
Keep swimming against the current. Keep moving toward something. Not because you’re supposed to, not because you should, but because you want to.
