Most people think freedom feels like standing in a ray of sunshine. But a lot of the time, it’s when you’re out in the cold.

Like many of us, I’ve craved 2 opposing things for so long.

Freedom, and certainty.

We all want the open-ness of the world to pour out in front of us…

To say, “fuck it, today, I’ll be doing this with my life!”

Wouldn’t that freedom be incredible?

Or, on a less intense level, to know that this coming October, you’ll take your work to an Airbnb in another state, to spark creativity and re align yourself.

But we also want certainty.

It’s deeply engrained within us to need to know what’s next - to have a grip on the reality we find ourselves in.

To know what our bank account will look like in 12 months time, or that we’ll be able to get a house when we’re ready, or that there’ll be a job waiting for us after study.

Because without control over what comes next, what happens if we aren’t ready for whatever comes?

But the truth that I’ve wrestled with, and come out embracing, is this.

The price of freedom is uncertainty.

Or rather, to be free, you must exchange much of the predictability you’re holding onto for comfort.

Here’s why:

Freedom = autonomy + possibility.

Simply put, autonomy = the ability to choose for yourself, and possibility = having a range of outcomes possible to you.

So freedom is where you can choose your own course, and many of those exist.

Here’s the thing:

Possibility requires uncertainty.

Therefore, Freedom requires it too.

It’s a beautiful realisation to know that the uncertainty that you may be facing right now, is the very thing you just need to embrace and love in order to continue towards the freedom you dream of.

Why couldn’t it be something for you to love?

The last 2 years of mine I’ve spent outside of university. Every day has been full of autonomy - some mornings I’ll surf for hours before getting into work that I’d created for myself through my own business, and others I’ll be out filming content, or be wandering through a foreign country.

And possibilty remains its purest - truly anything I want to direct myself towards is possible (maybe other than a med degree lol).

So that’s freedom right? Sure it is.

Has it had extremely uncertain moments? Have I had deeply anxious moments? You bet.

But now with this realisation, that uncertainty is within the magic of freedom, I feel like there’s a good reason to find comfort in it’s arrival. Like a reminder of the beauty this path contains.

You can go back to certainty whenever you like, just remember what else follows that path. How free will you truly be? What will your day to day autonomy look like?

I feel like that’s a solid argument for doing things that’ll scare you a little.

So maybe it’s not dropping out, or retreating to a cabin in the woods…

But what if it’s a trip to a country you’ve always wanted to go to? What if it’s a semester off, or finally giving that side hustle a go?

And all the while others steer clear because of the “uncertainty” these endeavours hold, you’ll know its the grand master key to opening the door to freedom.

Yeah, it’s cold out here, but the cold is where your fire is built.

So if freedom feels uncertain, you’re in the right place.

Have an amazing week <3

Sam.

ps:

Have a gander at my cinematic LUTs: https://luts.samwitness.com

Listen to me in your car talk about getting ahead in your 20s: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2t7oDRlkRgvvled9CUb4v4?si=0cc695a7b8ef4bc4

Or sus out the insta: https://www.instagram.com/samwitnesss