Do you ever stop to think about the word freedom? It reminds me of the word mature. I don’t believe we are ever completely free and certainly never 100% mature. These words connote finality, having arrived somewhere, or at the end of the task.
We recently celebrated our country’s birthday (and I celebrated mine) on July 4th. The occasion prompted me to consider the word freedom. We use it casually, as if it is something tangible, disposable or can be purchased on-line or at a retailer. We frequently embed it in writing, speech and in our thought process. The truth is, freedom isn’t free in the context that we use to describe it.
Our country’s independence was purchased with the price of hardship, many lives and as much financial support as could be mustered during the American Revolutionary War. Beginning with the Stamp Act in 1765, and ending with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the war came at a very high cost. Included in the cost was the migration of around 60,000 Loyalists to other British territories. It is safe to say that freedom wasn’t free.
On a much lighter note, my mother gained freedom from carrying me in her womb during the heat of the summer, but that also came at a cost. She thought carrying me was difficult until she had to raise me!
In 1949 Pierre Dos Utt published TANSTAAFL, which stands for ‘There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.’ I remember reading that book in one of my college economics classes. The simple gist of the book is that everything has a cost.
You may work for a large corporation and are seeking ‘freedom’ from the corporate life. Take it from someone who knows, that freedom carries a cost. Reduced vacation time, along with reduced benefits and probably compensation are a few of those potential costs.
I’ve heard people talk about freedom from a relationship that they were previously involved in. All I can say about that is wherever you go, there you are. You see, it wasn’t the relationship that was the problem; it was the people in it, you and the other person. You can’t forget the memories, good or bad that stay with you after the break up. Freedom?
In each of these situations it could be argued both ways whether the so-called freedom was the best alternative for those being freed. Britain today is considered one of our greatest allies. I tortured my parents for many years (laughing out loud) after I came into the world. Becoming an entrepreneur requires a totally different mindset and heart set, not to mention commitment level. Sacrifice is a word often used when describing becoming a small business person and there is no guarantee that your next relationship will be successful, particularly if you don’t do something about yourself to contribute to the health of that relationship. Often times people run away from relationships rather than face reality and try to make needed changes to succeed.
Something prevalent in the healthcare industry is the notion of changing out Practice Management and Electronic Health Record systems to get something better. In theory that works, but think of the cost. If you read the reports, clients switching to new systems can spend up to hundreds of millions of dollars to make that change. Since operating margins for most health systems is very low, it may take a long time to break even on that investment! In addition, if the system is implemented the same way the old system was, the hoped-for improvements may diminish dramatically.
The Colonists argued ‘no taxation without representation.’ Change and some compromise on one or both sides could possibly have prevented that war altogether. The British could have allowed the colonists representation. Perhaps that would have solved the problem and prevented a revolution. Instead of freedom from Britain, the colonists would have achieved freedom from taxation without representation.
If parenting would have been different and I would have behaved differently, my parents would have been freed from dealing with my extensive mischief and I would have been freed from the extensive punishment.
If you and your former relationship partner had agreed to change together, your past broken relationship may have been saved and the associated costs, often lifelong burdens, could have been prevented.
If the healthcare system that spent hundreds of millions on a shiny new system would have embarked on change to improve the current system, they may have been able to save tremendous financial investment and the ‘human wear and tear’ required to implement a new system.
The two key words in this blog are ‘you’ and ‘change.’ Count the cost and consider what freedom really requires.