The Cost of Freedom in the Contemporary World

Our wavering choices. Our best selves.

I picked up the book from the personal growth sector in a Barnes & Nobles bookshop in New York City and I won’t lie about it, I had no idea who the author was, but the limoncello-hued paperback really caught my eye.

Oh, and the title included the word “badass” so I figured the “growth mindset” might really come in handy in this situation; you know, be open about your reading choices despite the obvious millennial lingo and don’t mind straying from the usual path to get a bit more perspective — read out of your comfort zone and get enlightened they say!

So I started reading Jen Sincero’s “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” as I always do — voraciously, especially as I was slowly transitioning into a new chapter of my life — one where I needed to take a step back and reset myself and all the jazz.

Some call it mid-life existential crisis, others “a desire to grow and elevate yourself”. I call it life and its usual quirks.

But okay, just to shine a bit of light on what the book is about, well, in a nutshell, it’s a really nice collection of witty and inspiring stories peppered with the occasional swear word giving readers some really useful life hacks to make it out there.

It also helps with the self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviours that stop people from getting what they want. Because, apparently, people tend to do things like that a lot — think less of themselves, have low self-esteem, and strongly believe the universe is conspiring against everything they want to achieve.

Basically, the premise is that to get what you want, you really need to want it and align your want with The Force (the form of The Force can be yours to define and choose), but in the end, all the positive energies in the world will collude to help you turn your want into reality.

It might sound esoteric and although I tend to believe in hard work, perseverance, resilience and grit, I do believe there is some truth to that perspective.

I believe in this stance because I really identify with the following quote I pulled out from the book.

“If you’re serious about changing your life, you’ll find a way. If you’re not, you’ll find an excuse.”

Today, we all want to make it, but the truth is that despite our will to become successful or find our unique place in society, we quickly find out that the possibilities are endless, the options are innumerable and this tends to distract us along the way.

I think we are living unprecedented times and we are so lucky to live in an era of technology and innovation, open-source education, access to knowledge and easy immersion into cultures.

I’ll just share some of the things that make this era so awesome.

• Education and knowledge are available a click away — for free. Anyone has access to it and anyone can become a self-made person (if they have a mild dose of ambition at least).
• Technology has the power to enable innovation in so many industries and completely change the future of work. Of course, let’s not forget it’s a double-edged sword and has its downside if not used in a sustainable way.
• More and more individuals are developing a global mindset, which is why companies are multicultural, jobs can be remote, people can be mobile and work as digital nomads! We can all aim to become citizens of the world one way or another.
• Travel is easier and more affordable every day, and more young people tend to start investing in experiences more than their counterpart, material goods (at least I tend to believe so).
• Sharing economy is real and here to make our lives so much better and easier; we now have apps for cabs, groceries, bills and literally anything that used to make our life a long series of chores and errands!

While all these amazing perks are meant to paint a utopian picture of our contemporary society, we all know that life is not always a straightforward journey.

We can blame it on our complex DNA and the thousands of years during which our species had to endure anxieties, stress and vulnerabilities, or even today’s greedy capitalist system which forces all of us to somehow feel as cogs in a wheel.

But yes, it’s true, life’s amphitheater has plenty of seats, but which one are we willing to occupy?

Options may be unlimited, but how much of ourselves are we really willing to put out there to become the best?

How much of who we are behind the scenes can be actually presented to the world? And how much are we willing to risk, sacrifice or compromise to arrive at the best versions of ourselves?

In a world filled to the brim with information and noise, with millions of social media sneak peeks into successful lives, it feels almost impossible to make the right decision to be ourselves, in our purest form, or even to follow the one path that deeply resonates with us.

This is why, I always think that challenges will enrich us, and struggles will divert our attention from the endless noise — and really force us to find the clarity that we need so dearly.

The world needs to stretch and break us just a little bit so that we learn to cherish and embrace it and become one with its organic energy.

The world needs to push us into uncomfortable situations so that we learn to appreciate its bounty and its beauty.

The world needs to make us look inward so that we truly become connected with who we are.

The world needs to teach us how to want less and be grateful for what’s available now, in this very moment.

Perhaps, then and only then will we have the wisdom to find our place and unlock our real potential. And perhaps only then will we be able to lift down the heavy burden shaped as freedom of choice and leap into the world with poise, clarity and purpose.