Freedom can mean different things to different people. Most people think of it as under a
democratic government. Or perhaps they think of freedom of choice. If freedom were merely
a matter of not being in a prison cell, then the vast majority of us should be free, but we often find ourselves imprisoned by internal anxieties, worries, habits, compulsions, fears,
depression, addictions and false assumptions. True freedom is more than a physical condition, it also involves freedom of our minds. In this article when you read ‘Freedom of mind’ it means freeing yourself from the negative thoughts and emotions that can sometimes take over your life.
Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist whose views were deeply influenced by real-life experiences in Nazi concentration camps. There he had little or no control over his external
circumstances but this drove him to discover a deep sense of self-reliance, insight and meaning which greatly changed the way Frankl experienced his suffering. It was not that the
conditions of the camp changed, but that, he found freedom from the misery by rising above
it, by finding meaning within it, and by embracing the opposite to the hatred and bitterness
which would have been expected. Freedom, to Frankl, was not an external affair, but an
internal one, based on choosing the attitude to any event.
Here are some ways to think about freedom of mind in a new way:
Define what freedom means to you and learn ways for you to access that freedom. Have you been feeling the weight of Covid and gotten stuck in a sedentary lifestyle? Commit to more movement. Commit to taking better care of your mental or physical health. When needed, therapy is a great way to help relieve burdens and weights from your heart, mind and energy.
Emotional Freedom : This allows you to better control your reaction to the things
around you. That can include stressful events or people treating you unfairly. By
giving yourself freedom from having an emotional reaction, you can seek a peaceful
place to process what is happening and how you will deal with it.
Freedom From Negative Thoughts: Can you control what you think, as if the brain
is a muscle you can exercise into shape? The answer, according to many different
experts, is “yes.” With focus and practice, you can control what you think about and
work to eliminate obsessive thoughts on negative issues. Science backs this up. Many
studies have found that changing your thinking can change how you perceive the
world around you. A positive outlook can lead to a more peaceful life. But “changing
your reality” requires some work on your part. You must think about the way you are
thinking and turn your thoughts away from negative issues.
Freedom From Others’ Opinion: What people think of us is important to everyone.
To a certain extent, that’s a good thing. We all want to behave in a way where others
find us a pleasure to be around. However, sometimes we find ourselves worrying too
much about the judgement of others. That can lead to us acting in ways that we
otherwise never would act. The ability to free yourself from that type of worry can
truly be liberating.
Free Yourself from The Inner Critic: This goes together with freeing yourself from
negative thoughts. But in this case, they are all self-created. Somewhere along the
way we were taught that certain things were supposed to be done certain ways, and
that we are failures if we don’t do them in that way. We develop nagging inner voices
that we use to constantly criticize ourselves. It’s important to realize that this is all in
our own heads! Only each person can free themselves from those inner voices and
“give yourself a break.” Not everything has to be perfect in every phase of our lives.
It’s important to relax and just be ourselves
Freedom is a topic that many consider, but not always in these ways. Give yourself the time
and space to think about ways you are not free. Focusing on granting that freedom can lead a much calmer, peaceful and productive life.
Freedom of mind isn't a one step process.
Remember, freedom happens in the small steps we take.
Change takes time, but it starts with one step. And then one more.
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