Freedom

Many of us do not feel financially free, physically free (from pain and disease), and mentally free.

It seems as though we are all on the search for financial, physical, and mental freedom.

How many of us are in some kind of debt?
How many of us are dealing with a nagging pain in some of part of our body, or fighting a chronic disease?
How many of us are dealing with cognitive dissonance on a daily basis in what we are doing with our lives?

The effect of not experiencing total freedom is stress: mental, physical, and/or emotional.
These stressors are ultimately not contributing to our total fitness and health, especially long term.

It would be great to rid ourselves of those stresses by being free, and be happy for the rest of our lives.

But how do we get there?

Being financially free by getting out debt: credit cards, school tuition, mortgages, and/or car loans are major sources of debt. The weight we feel and the priority those take in our daily lives are heavy and high, respectively. We live in the world today as essentially wage slaves earning money for our time and effort. We have all been to led to believe that we have to “invest in,” and take on massive loans to get ahead in life, because it will all pay off in the end. Borrowing money and having it to pay it back, along with the interest, is downright stressing. If there was a “get out of debt free” card that we could use, then we would all use it once we got our hands on one. There are many ways to get out of debt, one dollar at a time. Something like Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University is one, for example. It just takes focus, discipline, and a great partner, advisor, or coach who is on our side to keep us on track. Sticking to the plan and not veering off is the key on this long journey.

Being physically free of pain and disease: neck, back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, hip, knee, ankle, and/or foot pain; hyperinsulinemia, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, numerous cancers, numerous autoimmune conditions, numerous gastrointestinal issues, and many others are just a short list of what we have, and are still dealing with on a day-to-day basis. Just like debt, the weight we feel (literally) and the priority those pains and diseases our bodies and minds take over almost anything else are also heavy and high, respectively. We as individuals are subjected and enslaved to advertising and miseducation of what proper nutrition and movement are to help sustain, heal, and promote our bodies’ health. We have been reaping the negative consequences of believing what we were told and eating greater than needed amounts of processed carbohydrates and added sugar. This was done in the opposite with sources of animal fat; we have been encouraged to use industrial seed and vegetable oils. We are learning that even vegetables and fruits may not be the best for us, anyway. We have been misled to believe that single-muscle and single-joint “lifting” exercises, long, slow distance “jogging” for “cardio,” and doing crunches for “ab day,” all on separate and rotating days is good enough for our bodies’ strength and conditioning. If there was a magic pill that could rid us all of pain and disease, then we would all take it once we got our hands on one. To change for the better and to be free of pain and disease take better education of what nutrition and movement our human bodies truly evolved to need and thrive on. It takes focus, discipline, and a great partner, advisor, or coach to lead us one bite, one meal, and one repetition at a time on this long journey, too.

Being mentally free from stress and cognitive dissonance: who, what, where, why, and how we are living our lives for and at, respectively? Because of the crushing debt we are under, we have to take the barely-over minimum wage, monotonous job at the distribution center, working all day, and not getting to the see the light of day before heading home. What we sense and feel as our personal core values do not align with the company’s core values over time, as we see more and more of the selfishness and corruption in our company leaders and co-workers. We do not feel fulfilled working at this fulfillment center. The repetitive motions we experience everyday at this job give us pain in a combination of multiple joints in our bodies. We cannot leave company grounds for break or lunch, so we resort to eating at the on-site restaurant or deli which does not serve the most healthful food. We cannot and do not have the time during the week at home to prepare our meals to bring to work, because we think we can barely afford healthful food. We are too tired and stressed from the workday itself and from putting out figurative fires at home amongst our friends and family members. The unhealthful food we are eating and the limited movement we are getting during the days, weeks, months, and years are compounding the effects of the overall physical pain we are experiencing at work. Over time we develop any number of the nutrition and lifestyle-related (preventable) chronic diseases. We are prescribed with any number of joint braces and pharmaceuticals and eventual surgical procedures that our health or medical insurance that will barely pay for; we incur more debt. Who are we, and who are we doing this for? What are we doing here; what is this all for? Where else can we go? Why are we living this way? How is this possible; how can we do better? If there was a time machine or a tractor beam we could take to get us out of this chaos, then we would all take it once we got our hands on one. To get and be better, we need a helping hand to shine a light on situation we are in and light the way out of it. We need help to put everything we are going through in perspective and in context. We need to truly know where we are at, from another pair of eyes’ point of view. From there, it will take focus, discipline, and a great partner, advisor, or coach to lead and provide us with solutions out of the chaos, to freedom.

To be free requires us to devise and enact a grand plan that encompasses our whole selves to progress in all aspects of our lives harmoniously. We have to set our budgets and spending habits to take ourselves out of debt, and find new opportunities for employment, or even business ownership. We have to set our sights and attention on growing our overall knowledge to assist in our financial goals to freedom, and our fitness and health goals to freedom. We have to have mental fortitude and drive to know that the place we are in right now is only one stepping stone to more, and freedom. Along the way we have to have trusted partners, advisors, and coaches to help us with all the focused and disciplined actions needed to eventually live free.

We have the knowledge, skill, and ability to ultimately be free.

We have to declare, win, and protect it at all costs.

It takes focus, discipline, and a helping hand.

Whose helping hand are you going to take?