Prisoner in your own life

Whether it is a result of the choices you made, the consequences of those of your parents or rather the result of the fate handed to you by the universe, it is possible for you to be a prisoner in your own life. You might be wondering how is it possible to be a prisoner in your own life, the first question would rather be what is a prisoner? Or what does it mean to be a prisoner?

The feature which characterizes every prisoner is the lack of freedom, the freedom to do what they want or to go to where they want, they are stuck in an inescapable routine surrounded by walls they can’t breach.

We become prisoners in our own lives when we are unable to do the things we want, we are stuck in a routine we can’t break and imprisoned by the responsibilities we have.

• Imagine that parent with numerous kids who can’t afford to take a day off, but has to constantly do the same things in order to maintain his family,
• Imagine that shopkeeper who has to show up to his shop every single day for years on end,
• Imagine that student who has to keep learning and going to school every single day with no days off inorder to pass his exams
• Imagine that house help who has several siblings to take care of and needs to work for others for decades

All these people have dreams, aspirations and ambitions, I am sure they have things they’ll rather do than to work for others endlessly, but they do so because they need the compensation in order to deal with the responsibilities they have. That's why they put all of their personal feelings by the side and become prisoners to this routine in order to deal with the responsibilities they already have, in hopes that one day they’ll be able to break free and get the chance to do what they want.

The weight of responsibilities

In a lot of ways we are all prisoners, of what is where the difference is. Some are stuck in a 9 to 5 job which they can’t leave, others are prisoners to their mentality and way of thinking which keeps them in the same routine, but not everybody is a prisoner. When you get to do what you love you are not a prisoner and people as well who have reached a certain level of wealth have been able to free themselves, and now they get to do whatever they choose to.

In the same way you can free yourself, it just comes down to how. A lot of people right now are aiming to free themselves by working very hard to earn enough income so that it reduces the weight of the responsibilities they have and gives them the freedom they seek. Unfortunately, this method takes way too much time, and before it happens you might run out of life. Concretely speaking, going back to the example of the parent with so many responsibilities, their only plan is to work hard enough to earn more so that they can better meet the needs of their family while hoping those kids grow up and start taking care of themselves. Unfortunately, that would require decades of hard work and time before those responsibilities leave.

What you can do

There is no easy solution, no quick fix, and breaking free from these chains is far from being an easy task to do. I can’t sit here and give you a magical solution which will relieve you of all your responsibilities and duties, that will be delusional, but rather, here are some things which can guide you on how you should go.

Changing your mentality; The first prison is in our mind, before being imprisoned physically, we are imprisoned mentally. We think to ourselves that our problems are so big that they can’t be fixed, our responsibilities are so many that we can’t get rid of them. When you don’t even think a solution is possible, then how can you even begin finding one? Today more than ever, anybody can be a millionaire or even a billionaire (sometimes without even working hard), the only limit is in our minds.

Doing what you like: Freeing yourself doesn’t necessarily mean getting rid of those responsibilities, remember that you are a prisoner to a routine you don’t like, when you do what you like you won’t have to work a day in your life. So freeing yourself might be as simple as transitioning to doing the things you like and earning from it.

Getting rid of responsibilities: Whether it's persons you have to take care of or problems you have to deal with, there are ways of either transferring these responsibilities or getting rid of them all together, this will require for you to think. For example, people take on responsibilities because they want to have a certain lifestyle, but by switching their lifestyle they get to free themselves and live better.

Changing your routine: There isn’t a specific reason why you do what you do the way you do it, you comfortably fell into that routine because it was the most convenient and naturally coming, but nothing is stopping you from switching it up. Nothing says you must drive in a car to work, you do it for convenience, nothing says you most dislike your job, you do it for convenience etc. Switch things up and try new ways of doing the same things, maybe you can find a routine which feels much more comfortable.

Conclusion

Breaking free is essential for living a happy and fulfilling life. Embrace change, cultivate curiosity, set goals, switch your routine and practice mindfulness. You can escape the monotony of your daily life and discover new possibilities for growth, happiness and fulfillment. That will require for you to step out of your comfort zone, embrace uncertainty and adventure beyond your routine.

Thanks for reading ☺️

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