Freedom, I’ve learned, rarely arrives as a dramatic breakthrough. It’s not the world letting go of you. It’s you letting go of what doesn’t belong.I used to believe freedom was about circumstances. Change your job, escape a relationship, earn more, move far away. But over time, and after countless quiet reckonings, I’ve found that real freedom isn’t out there. It’s inside, in the stories I allow, the clutter I release, the meanings I choose. Philosophers like Epictetus saw this long before neuroscience caught up. “We are not trapped by events, but by our interpretations,” he said. And today, brain science draws the same map: the prefrontal cortex, where we plan, reframe, and imagine, lights up not when life changes, but when we change the way we meet it. Much of what keeps us stuck is surplus. Unspoken worries, background tabs, old fears, inherited roles, the ache to control what we never could. Cognitive overload isn’t just uncomfortable; it’s chemical. Too much noise and the mind’s clarity gets hijacked. Cortisol rises, focus scatters, and creative possibility dims. But every time I let something go—an unnecessary obligation, a worn-out self-story, even a digital distraction—I can almost feel the spaciousness return. The prefrontal cortex quiets the static. Suddenly, there’s room for breath, reflection, and agency. In Nie Wieder Sinnlos, I wrote that fullness isn’t about adding more, but subtracting what weighs us down. The empty space between thoughts is what lets the mind play its own music. Neuroscience calls this “cognitive reappraisal”—the simple, not-easy practice of seeing setbacks as choices, not chains. Every time you pause before reacting, or ask, “Is this really true?” you’re not just being wise. You’re changing the wiring of your brain. Resilience, flexibility, even physical health, all begin in the space between stimulus and response. It isn’t always comfortable. Blame is easy. Responsibility takes practice. But each time you return to what you can control—your focus, your story, your next step—you are reclaiming a little more freedom. If you’re searching for freedom, try subtracting before adding. Clear the old to make space for the new. Remember that your mind is more free than you think, and every small act of letting go creates space for possibility. Real freedom is quiet, patient, and built moment by moment— but it’s always waiting for you to choose it. |