If you've turned to the internet for advice on managing your time or being as productive as possible, you would've inevitably found yourself in a spiral of passive productivity, a tutorial hell on how to live life. The internet predates on such interests; it pumps your feed with tailored-made content that's a perfect mix of aesthetics and insights that'll keep you hooked for hours.
Am I saying that productivity channels are wrong? No. Am I saying that the self-help genre is a sham? Never. Channels, books or any other form of content are filled with valuable insights, opinions and bits of advice. But that's where it ends: they are NOT rules and are not MADE for YOU. They're made to throw as wide a net as possible, to cater to as much of the typical audience, so what ends up happening is the advice starts saturating, it plateaus, different sources start paraphrasing each other. That's when you know you've heard enough, you've seen enough. It is time to act and get out of the hole you've spent the last so-so months in.
That's where I found myself a couple of weeks back. I've realised that amidst the different approaches and the numerous promises (some fake and simply a click-bait), there's a central theme; Freedom. It's what we yearn for; it's what all these different methods want you to have. It's the only thing in life that's worth fighting for, but what is it really?
Ali Abdaal and a lot of creators talk about financial freedom, making enough money to be able to pursue whatever you wish to pursue. In his book, The Million Dollar Weekend, Noah Kagan starts by asking his readers to calculate their freedom number, the amount of money a person needs in a month. Seems like the correct answer. I mean, it's money; you can't go wrong with it. True. But for a student being supported by his parents, is money what's holding him back? I don't think so. Or take an upper-middle or even a rich wife from a conservative family in India, forced to do the dishes while a Masters Degree is hidden in her closet. Money is in surplus, but is she truly free?
On the flip side, watch some of Tyler Oliviera's insane journalism on Portland's drug epidemic or Chicago's gang violence. Homeless but with a shelter and some rations, nothing to feel happy about except for drug-induced euphoria. Now stay with me. Don't you think they're truly free? They don't have to turn the corporate hamster wheel, they don't have families to worry about, they don't have anything to live for or die for. They have nothing tethering them to the brute reality an ordinary man faces. No taxes, no job, no responsibilities. If you've ever looked at a bird and wondered, that's true freedom, do you see how similar this is? Now I'm not advocating drug abuse, Never. But I'm just pointing out the extremities in our discussion.
So, is true freedom not having a job? No, there are lots of people who love their jobs and feel liberated by them; take YouTubers, for example. So, is true freedom having no responsibilities? Close but not exactly, there are people who yearn for responsibilities, which give meaning to their lives.
It's obligations and how they make you feel, that's the key.
True freedom is when obligations don't burden you.
This is my answer. A wife in a loving marriage is obligated to take care of her family, but she does not see it as a burden and is, therefore, free. A man whose work is his passion doesn't seek another way of life. His obligation is his work, but his work is not a burden, and therefore he is free.
A student whose parents spend thousands on isn't bound by money but by his academics, he has an obligation to perform in it and only if he does well, will he feel free. I've been on both ends of the spectrum; I've performed well and enjoyed the freedom it gave me, along with its confidence, status, and so much more. Three years since I've practically wasted it all because I confused myself with another man's definition of freedom. Freedom to me is academic, not financial, and I know this is true for a lot of people, but not enough that the internet algorithms prioritise it. So, if you're reading this, consider yourself lucky and spread the good word :)
Comments