We say we want freedom more than anything… and then build lives and businesses full of everything but.
We want freedom of time, freedom of expression, freedom of choice, freedom of energy, freedom to build our life and business our way, without apology.
A few years ago, I had a week that gave me an ah-ha moment, one I had felt before, but this time, it landed differently.
I had cleared my calendar.
Intentionally.
No meetings, no calls, no obligations.
Just space to pause, to be…to unhook from a pace I had been keeping for years (not so intentionally, I’ll confess).
And yet, within two days, I felt… unmoored. Uncomfortable. Scattered and restless. Almost agitated.
Almost as if the very thing I’d craved was now quietly pressuring me to do something with it.
Space Alone Isn’t Freedom
That’s when it clicked:
Space alone doesn’t create freedom.
Structure does.
This is the paradox most of us miss:
We think freedom lives in the absence of limits.
But true freedom often comes from clarity and simplicity– from knowing what matters and letting go of the rest.
- When everything is open, nothing feels anchored.
- Too many choices dilute focus.
- Too much white space breeds pressure, not peace.
- Too few anchors can leave your energy quietly unraveling.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge advocate of whitespace, and I stress the importance of it to my clients. But whitespace works best when it’s held by a few clear and simple anchors, so the spaciousness feels supportive instead of unmoored.
The Anchor Is Not the Enemy
There’s a reason we resist anchors: we think they’ll restrict us.
That structure will somehow box us in, stifle our creativity, or signal that we’re giving up flexibility, spontaneity…or ourselves.
But the right anchor does the opposite.
It brings our full energy online.
It quiets the noise and invites curiosity.
It gives form to what’s been trying to come through, but we’ve been too damn busy to listen.
One small evening commitment reset my entire week. At the end of each day, I wrote down three things I wanted to focus on the next day, in order of priority. If I worked on the top priority, I considered it a success… remember, structure equals freedom—not perfection.
My focus sharpened, but stayed fluid.
My energy grounded even as it was rising.
My days felt free — not from less structure, but from the ‘right’ structure for me.
And that’s the shift:
Freedom isn’t the absence of boundaries.
It’s finding the ones that fit.
And when those boundaries are chosen with intention, something powerful happens:
What used to feel like restriction becomes relief.
What felt like pressure becomes rhythm.
That rhythm becomes your simplicity — and your strategy.
The Practice of Freedom
We talk about freedom like it’s something we earn.
But the quiet truth is freedom is something we tend. It asks for devotion— not escape.
It’s not the prize at the end of discipline; it’s the rhythm that forms when discipline and desire stop fighting each other.
Freedom isn’t about removing all constraints; it’s about refining them until they serve your life, your work, your relationships, your energy, your purpose.
When you build your days around what nourishes you — your priorities, pace, truth — your structure becomes a sacred agreement with yourself.
It’s how you keep your freedom alive.
So maybe freedom isn’t the feeling of having no edges at all.
Maybe that’s the real paradox: the anchor doesn’t keep you stuck; it keeps you steady enough to move toward what’s calling you next.
I’ve been sitting with that insight, and it’s brought a few questions to the surface.
Here are the questions I’m sitting with, maybe you are too:
- Where am I craving freedom but resisting the structure that would support it?
- Where am I stripping away limits that are actually giving me strength and consistency?
- Where would one small anchor bring me back to myself, my clarity, and my power?
The next era of business is anchored in self-trust, not constant hustle. Define your rhythm, keep it sacred, and let the lines you draw become your liberation.