Freedom in Daily Life

And Overcoming a Sense of Meaninglessness

My life is the sum of my days. Most days are split between work, time at home with my partner, and calls with my family. Occasionally, I do something different. I travel somewhere far away, experience something new, or have one of those special moments that stay with me for a long time.

But that happens only two or three times a year. I think most of us live this way. There is not much more to the basic structure of our lives. That is why my daily life is so important to me. So I took a moment to examine it more closely.

When I did, I noticed something interesting. I face constant disruptions both at work and in my personal life. At work, those disruptions often come from other people. Work requires interacting with others, but people often try to advance their own agendas.

Everyone has different goals, priorities, and interests. Because of that, navigating the disruptions that arise at almost every step becomes an art. You can be doing your job, focusing on your work, and minding your own business when suddenly you find yourself dealing with something that has nothing to do with what you set out to accomplish. Every time this happens, I find myself reflecting on it because it still amazes me.

Then there is my personal life, especially when past hurt is involved. But even without that, life has a way of disturbing my peace. Expectations, misunderstandings, worries, responsibilities—they constantly arise and demand attention. For example, I can be sitting peacefully, watching TV, when disruptive thoughts suddenly intrude.

Paradoxically, I think this is a kind of protective mechanism. The mind is trying to prevent future problems. But most of the time, it simply unsettles me and takes away the peace of the moment.

How Can I Improve My Daily Life?

Three things came to mind:

• Radical acceptance
• Having options
• Having money

Interestingly, they all lead to the same thing: freedom.

1. Radical Acceptance

For me, nothing works better than accepting reality as it is. I try to train myself to let go of thoughts such as:

• How is that possible?
• Why are they behaving like that?
• Is this fair?
• I would never…
• I always…

These questions rarely improve the situation for me. The best thing I can do is accept what has happened; the situation already exists. Whenever I manage to do this, I notice the same thing: I feel a little freer.

Of course, I still take action afterward. Acceptance does not mean doing nothing. In fact, if I can remove myself from an unhealthy situation, that is usually the first thing I do. I do not know whether other people have better approaches, but for me, leaving situations that are not good for me is often the quickest and most effective solution. To do that, however, you need options.

2. Options

Having options in life is like holding a golden ticket. You can choose who you want to be in a relationship with. You can choose where you want to live. You can choose your career.

You can learn new skills when life changes. You can choose how to take care of your health. You can choose the kind of person you want to become. The more options you have, the easier it becomes to shape your life around your values. And in my experience, a good life comes from using those options in ways that align with what matters to you.

3. Money

Money is crucial to creating a good daily life. As the famous saying goes, money cannot buy happiness. Maybe that is true in some situations.

But in everyday life, money certainly buys me more freedom. Money gives me options. It allows me to say:

“Yes, I’ll do that” or “No, I won’t do that.”

Money allows me to take better care of myself. It allows me to leave a bad job if necessary and support myself while I look for another one. It allows me to buy thoughtful gifts for people I care about.

It allows me to donate. It allows me to solve problems more easily. For me, money and options are closely connected.

Maybe there is a point at which more money stops adding to these benefits, or at which life becomes too easy and starts to feel meaningless. I honestly do not know. I have never been in that situation, so I cannot comment on it.

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Overcoming a Sense of Meaninglessness
My Seeds of Joy

What surprises me is that even after building these foundations, I still sometimes experience a sense of emptiness. Radical acceptance helps. Options help. Money helps. Freedom helps.

But none of those things automatically create joy. This is where I think the real challenge begins, because a life can be stable, comfortable, and free—and still feel somewhat empty.

I slowly realized that freedom removes many obstacles to a good life but does not create meaning by itself. There needs to be joy in life. I have noticed that some people seem naturally joyful.

They have a certain excitement about life that is contagious. For me, however, that sense of joy does not come automatically. I have to cultivate it intentionally.

Freedom removes many obstacles to a good life but does not create meaning by itself.

A joyful life is worth living. I plant my seeds of joy by intentionally looking for moments of joy and recognizing them when they appear. My “Seeds of Joy” list is in no particular order:

• When my boyfriend wakes me up exactly when we agreed and then kisses me and gets me out of bed.
• When I have coffee with a friend.
• When my brother calls me.
• When I write for my blog or work on my book.
• When I read a good book.
• When I reflect on the fact that I have become a reasonable and emotionally stable person.
• When I realize that I can choose not to react.
• When I notice the beauty of nature in the nearby park.
• When I look at the vision I have for my life and realize how close I am to achieving it.
• When I go for a swim.
• When I notice and appreciate someone’s good manners during a conversation.
• When I have an interesting conversation with someone.
• When I received my latest health report and learned that I am in excellent health, I felt a deep sense of joy.
• When I listen to a good podcast.
• When I remember that I have options in life.
• When I remember that I have money in my account and nothing urgent to worry about.
• When I hear incredible life stories that genuinely interest me.
• When I am around good people.
• When I remember the good people who helped me.
• When I remember that I did something good for someone.
• When I remember how I solved problems that once felt very complicated.
• When I remember that I am not the same person I used to be.
• When I remember that life really does get better if you keep trying.
• And so on…

And somehow, there is quite a lot of joy after all.