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THe Freedom stem

written by      SAI

filed under     CAREER | RELATIONSHIPS | LIFESTYLE | MINDSET

published      SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

TLDR

  • The Freedom STEM can be broken down into Space, Time, Energy, and Money freedoms

  • “Freedom to” is optionality and “freedom from” is non-optionality

example statements

  • “I want to experience freedom.”

  • “I want to be financially free.”

  • “I want to travel the world.”

  • “I want to spend time the way I want to but I currently don’t.”

  • “I’m going to leave my job because I don’t want to work for anyone.”

current state

I’ve heard the above statements said repeatedly. I’ve even said them myself. But they are vague. Of course, who wouldn’t want to retire in their 20s or 30s and spend the rest of their lives doing what they want whenever they want with whomever they want? To be free. Isn’t that the dream?

 

But what exactly does it mean to be free? Let’s deconstruct freedom into the various aspects of it. From there, you can more precisely intend on what type of freedom you actually want to prioritize and make decisions according to that.

 

In this essay, I’ll primarily answer these two questions and how understanding the answers to these questions is useful for you.

 

  1. What are the 4 categories of freedom?

  2. What are the 2 versions of freedom?

what i am proposing

The Freedom STEM. The Freedom STEM is an easy way to remember the 4 main categories of freedom.

 

  • S = Space freedom

  • T = Time freedom

  • E = Energy freedom

  • M = Money freedom

​

First, let’s take Space Freedom. Space freedom takes into account where you live, where and how you move in the world, what your travel is, how much freedom you have to move in this world.

 

Are you confined to your apartment for most of your day? Do you live in your suburban home with your parents? Do you have a car or do you rely on ride shares and public transit? Do you have a space at home for all the things you want, like a home gym, meditation room, garden, office? Can you travel to the vacation destination next on your list? All these are factors of your space freedom.

 

For example, living in Midtown Manhattan in NYC, we may sacrifice a bit of space freedom in terms of pure square footage but we make up for it because we have the spatial freedom to be in great proximity to millions of other people in a densely populated area, i.e. opportunities for spontaneity and connection. Conversely, living in a suburb like Alpharetta, GA may afford you more spatial freedom in your living situation (larger house), among other benefits, but that also means you need to drive longer distances to be involved physically in other areas of the Atlanta metro area. Give and take relationship here.

 

COVID put a microscope on our spatial freedom. We were restricted in our spatial freedom locally (6 feet social distancing + quarantining) and globally (severely modified domestic and international travel).

 

Simply put, space freedom is

  • Your home and living spaces (Living)

  • Local / regional / global transportation (Moving)

 

It answers ‘Where’ and ‘Where To’.

02 Space Freedom.png

Second, we have Time Freedom.

 

Are you free to do something when someone asks? Can you sit down and focus on a task for a give period of time? Do you have the autonomy of crafting your ideal calendar? Or are you at the whim of others? Can you do what you want when you want? These are all questions that relate to having time freedom.

 

Below may be indicative of a more typical view of your calendar.

02b Traditional Calendar View.png

But what if we thought about time freedom in the context of a RACI matrix. Are you just consulted and informed of how you’ll spend your time based on the demands of others? Or are you truly responsible and accountable for your time? Do you have autonomy over it?

03 Time Freedom.png

For example, I resigned from my job at 2ULaundry in June 2023. One of the reasons I did so was to gain time freedom. I wanted to grow my coaching business; I wanted to write and publish a book; I wanted to invest in and bet on myself more; I wanted to create and share more content. I got to a point where relieving 40 hours / week at my full-time job would allow me the ability to focus on all these desires, and more. This is time freedom in action!

 

Simply put, Time Freedom answers ‘What’ and ‘When.’

 

Next, let’s take Energy Freedom.

 

Who are you connecting with regularly? Who are in your social circles? How do your energy levels change based on the type of people you’re around? What are your emotions throughout the day? How do the responsibilities you have to yourself and others affect your emotions? Can you self-regulate your emotions in a way that serves you? These are questions to ask when talking about energy freedom.

04 Energy Freedom.png

Related to this topic is the spectrum of introversion to extroversion. My connotation in the past of these terms was how much you talk. But my view of it has changed in the last few years to how energy levels change based on the people you’re around. I find myself recharging my energy battery when I’m alone and have my own time and space. (So typical introversion tendency there). AND I also get energy when talking to certain people about certain topics. I find myself surrounding myself with more of these types of people. Ask yourself who these people are for you so your energy raises when you’re around them.

 

I’ve identified 5 action / decision sub-factors underneath emotions that all play a role in how free you feel energetically. They are:

 

  • Quantity of actions / decisions

  • External impact of actions / decisions

  • Urgency of actions / decisions

  • Duration of actions / decisions

  • Internal emotional regulation / investment of actions / decisions

 

Every action (and inaction) is a decision that we make. When people talk about decision fatigue personally or professionally, this is a deconstructed way of looking at the concept. Steve Jobs wearing the same outfit every day is an example of reducing the quantity of decisions he has to make in a day, i.e. decision fatigue. This leads to more energetic freedom throughout his day.

 

Additionally, responsibilities and pressure are inevitably tied to your emotions. They are incorporated in the above list implicitly. When closing a large sales deal, for example, the pressure may be high - why? Because the external impact is high, the urgency of the decision is high, especially if it’s a now or never situation, the duration timeline of the deal could probably have been pretty long, This may impact your emotions, which in turn is your energy freedom.

 

In essence, Energy Freedom answers ‘Who’ and ‘How’; Connections and Emotions.

 

Finally, let’s deconstruct Money Freedom.

 

Do you have the money to invest in whatever you want? How much do you allocate to the present vs the future? Are you tied to something financially from the past? Do you have to say no to something that you want to do because you don’t have the money for it? Do you have to ask people for financial assistance? Is money a limiting factor to your current experiences?

 

They say that time is money. So let’s neatly categorize money freedom in terms of time. Below are those 3 sub-factors.

 

  • Experiences (present)

  • Debt (past)

  • Investment (future)

 

What experiences do you want to have that money can enable?

What is all the debt that you have? (Some debt can serve you, while other debt may not)

What do you want to invest in?

 

These are pretty high level questions that can indicate what you value. How you spend your money can tell a lot about the things that are important to you. Asking these questions gives an initial lay of the land.

05 Money Freedom.png

I don’t need to tell you what having enough money means for you. This is usually what people mean when they mean free, especially financial freedom. But when people mention being financially free, what do they actually mean? It’s really a combination of all 4 categories of freedom that we’ve talked about so far. It’s more holistic than having enough money to experience what you want. It’s having Space Freedom (e.g. travel the world), Time Freedom (e.g. not in all day meetings), Energy Freedom (e.g. actually feel free doing all those things) through having enough money.

 

Simply put, Money Freedom is ‘How Much’.

 

To recap, those were the 4 categories of the Freedom STEM.

  • Space Freedom (Where)

  • Time Freedom (What and When)

  • Energy Freedom (Who and How)

  • Money Freedom (How Much)

 

Now we’re going to add another dimension to this: the 2 versions of freedom. These versions combined with the categories will give us 4x2 = 8 total types of freedom.

 

The two versions of freedom are:

  • Freedom from

  • Freedom to

 

In terms of question words, that leaves just one main one left: Why. ‘Freedom from’ and ‘freedom to’ answer ‘Why’.

06 Freedom Versions.png

When most people think of freedom, I would say they’re actually thinking of the ‘freedom to’ version. What is the difference between freedom from something and freedom to something?

 

In simplest terms, Freedom to = optionality. Freedom from = non-optionality.

 

Freedom to is having more choice available to you. Freedom from is having that choice taken away from you. But paradoxically, you could find yourself more free in those situations.

 

I’ve heard stories where people who had ‘no choice but to…’ When ‘failure is not an option.’ When a team is an underdog and is ‘playing with house money.’ When the general ‘burns the ships’ so there’s no retreating. These are all examples of freedom from. Realizing when you’re in which situation calls for different mindsets and actions.

For example, what is one of the reasons why Chipotle and Chik-Fil-A are at the top of the industry? I would say non-optionality. You have a limited number of options to choose from on their menu. And they execute on those things really well. For Chipotle. you have only a few base options, a few protein options, a few topping options, and a few salsa options. Each step does not contribute to decision fatigue. Whereas look at Cheesecake Factory. One of the connotations of the restaurant you have just by hearing it is the vast number of food options available to you. That could contribute to decision fatigue → emotions → higher energy ‘freedom to’ but lower energy ‘freedom from’.

 

Remember Steve Jobs’ example of wearing the same clothes every day? That’s an example of freedom from. Because he doesn’t have to make that decision every day. He’s free from that mental and emotional bandwidth exertion.

 

To further illustrate the differences, here are more examples within the context of the categories of freedom. All these examples I have experienced directly in my life.

07 8 types of freedom.png

Freedom to is Yes. Freedom from is No.

 

Freedom to is addition. Freedom from is subtraction.

 

Freedom to is attachment. Freedom from is detachment.

 

Freedom to is learning. Freedom from is unlearning.

 

Let’s picture an actual stem. Does it stem from something or towards something? Answer is both. It stems from the ground. AND to the sunlight.

 

Similarly, this Freedom STEM has aspects of freedom from and aspects of freedom to. It’s up to us to recognize which one will serve us.

08 Freedom STEM.png

Now all of these 8 types of freedom are related to one another. “Time is money.” “Time management is energy management.” These are indications that these categories are related to each other. They’re not operating in vacuums. But this deconstruction is just for the sake of understanding its components so we can understand how they all work together.

 

Society has trained me to think in terms of freedom to with the abundance of options out there across all areas of life. But I believe that to fully take advantage of that optionality, we have to unlearn some of those ‘freedom to’ thought patterns, cultivate healthy ‘freedom from’ practices, and live in a balance between the two that serves us. By shifting our focus entirely from freedom to to freedom from, it will inevitably lead to freedom to.

Freedom to is having more choice available to you. Freedom from is having that choice taken away from you. But paradoxically, you could find yourself more free in those situations.

what can i do?

Now what does knowing these 8 types of freedom and their components actually allow you to do or change in your life? It gives you the framework and language to specifically pinpoint what type of freedom you actually desire. Do you actually mean time freedom from when you say money freedom? Do you actually mean energy freedom from when you say space freedom?

 

Now revisiting the questions from the beginning, they somehow seem even more vague now. The best thing you can do here is to specify what type of freedom you actually desire, and prioritize them, then march towards them.

 

What steps can you take to move to a healthier understanding and relationship with freedom?

 

  1. When you say “I want freedom”, which of these categories do you actually mean more often?

  2. Rate each of the 4 STEM categories in your life currently

  3. Write all the things that would make you feel free in your life

  4. Deconstruct them into the 4 STEM categories and the 2 To/From types

  5. Ensure there is a corresponding freedom from one for every freedom to one

  6. Prioritize the 8 types of freedom

  7. Take action on the individual list items within the highest prioritized types of freedom

09 Steps to Freedom.png

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sai is a Life Coach for Young Adults seeking to Live their Quarter Life on Easy Mode!

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