#477: Monday Motivation: "Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose - and commit myself to - what is best for me."

Welcome to another short but empowering episode of Monday Motivation, giving you a dose of inspiration as you head into your week...

Today, we explore Paulo Coelho's beautiful reminder that true freedom comes from choosing, and wholeheartedly committing to, what is best for us:

"Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose and commit myself to what is best for me."

Three key takeaways you can expect:

  1. Discover why real freedom isn't about having an empty calendar, but about filling your life with commitments that truly matter.

  2. Learn three simple questions to help you evaluate every commitment in your life and decide whether it deserves your time and energy.

  3. Be inspired to let go of obligations driven by guilt, habit or expectations, and instead create a life that feels intentional, meaningful and aligned with your dreams.

Listen in and discover how choosing your commitments with intention can help you create a life you truly love, one thoughtful decision at a time.

As always, I’d LOVE to hear what resonated most with you - so please share and let’s keep the conversation going in the Dream Life Podcast Facebook Group here.    

Have a wonderful week …and remember, it all starts with a dream 💛

Dream Life & kikki.K Founder

SHOW NOTES:

RESOURCES:

TRANSCRIPT:

[00:00:10] Kristina: Hi there, and happy Monday. I am so glad you are here with me this morning. Wherever you are right now, if you're making your coffee, out for an early walk, or just sitting in the car for a quiet minute before the day begins, I would love for you to take one slow breath with me before we start. In through your nose, and slowly out.

[00:00:36] And maybe one more

[00:00:44] I love starting my day taking three beautiful breath. It really is a great reminder that we always have our breath when we are a little bit out of energy and, um, we need to [00:01:00] reset quickly. But today is not about breath. Today is about a quote that I love, and it goes like this: " Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose and commit myself to what is best for me."

[00:01:19] I want you to really hear this one. Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose and commit yourself to what is best for you It's a beautiful quote by, uh, Paulo Coelho. And for so many of us, I think we think freedom mean having few things on our plate, an empty calendar, no obligations, nothing tying us down.

[00:01:51] A lot of us daydream about the day we finally have nothing we have to do. But here is what I know now. After years [00:02:00] of designing my own life and my own freedom, and walking alongside so many people doing the very same thing in the Dream Life Coaching program, that empty kind of freedom is not really freedom at all.

[00:02:14] It's just emptiness, and it doesn't feel anywhere near as good as we imagine it will. Because real freedom is something far richer than that. It's not about sitting on an empty beach and, uh, drinking pina colada. That's often what I see when I, when I look for a freedom picture for my vision board.

[00:02:38] I often see that. But I think it's so much richer than that. And of course, sitting on a beach with-- drinking a pina colada is a beautiful thing as well, but not for the rest of your life. I think we can do so much better than that. And for me, it's really about looking at your one beautiful life [00:03:00] and getting to choose what you say yes to.

[00:03:04] It's being able to look at the commitment, even a hard one, even a big one, and know deep down, "I am choosing this. This matters to me. This one is mine." Because the truth is, a full life was never really the problem. A life full of the wrong things, things we never really choose, things we drifted into, or things we keep saying yes to out of guilt or habits or old expectations, that is what makes us feel trapped.

[00:03:36] I see this over and over in the Dream Life Coaching program. and then when they finally feel free, it's almost never because they've cleared their whole calendar. It's because they got clear on what mattered, and then let go of what didn't, and choose the rest on purpose. It's the same full life, completely different [00:04:00] feeling.

[00:04:00] So freedom is not fewer commitments, freedom is better chosen ones. So let's make this really practical because that's what we love to do here. This week, I would love for you to take just three of the commitments sitting in your calendar, and hold each up to the light with a simple question

[00:04:21] One, did I truly choose this or did I quietly drift into it? Two, does this move me closer to the life I actually want or a little further away? And three, if I'm choosing to keep it, can I commit to it fully with my whole heart instead of resenting it quietly in the background? The last one matters so much because a commitment you have genuinely chosen feels completely different from one that you are simply enduring.

[00:04:53] It can be the same task, the same hour of your day, but one of them drains you and the other [00:05:00] one is an expression of who you are becoming. And this is exactly what Paulo Coelho is pointing to, not the absence of commitments, the freedom to choose them, and then to give yourself to them fully and gladly.

[00:05:14] So before the week sweeps up on you, here's my question for you, and if you can, get it down on paper because that's where it becomes real. What is one thing you are saying yes to right now yet you didn't truly choose? and what would it look like to either gently let go of it or to choose it again properly this time on purpose?

[00:05:38] Here's a reminder, you are allowed to design your week and your life around what is best for you. It's not selfish. That is freedom. Now, before I go, I want to just mention one more thing, and only because I think it belongs with everything we have just talked about.

[00:05:58] today is the f- first [00:06:00] Monday we are starting to work on freedom in the Dream Life coaching program for July. If you have been listening for a while and if you felt that quiet pull that this might finally be your year to stop drifting and start choosing, to get really clear on what's best for you and have the courage and the community to actually commit to it, then this might be your window because I love July because basically it's six months until New Year and then you got another six months.

[00:06:35] So the next 12 months could look completely different for you if you choose to. It's the most beautiful group and it's a full year of designing your life on purpose along others doing exactly the same. As always, there is no pressure from me at all. Only you know if it's the right step for you right now.

[00:06:57] You'll find everything you need at [00:07:00] yourdreamlifestartshere.com and I'll pop the link in the show notes for you as well. I'm recording this ahead of time so it might be full. We only let 10 people in July so I just wanna say that just in case because I am recording this ahead of time. Regardless, whatever you choose this week, my wish for you is simple: choose it on purpose.

[00:07:22] You are in the driver's seats of this one beautiful life so let's design it like we mean it. Thank you so much for spending this time with me this morning. I am so grateful that you choose to spend your time here. Have the most beautiful Monday, have the most beautiful week and as always, I'll be back on Friday.

[00:07:44] I can't wait to see you then

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