Earlier this week Antonio Brown was featured in the media as he discussed the topic of freedom in a post-workout locker room interview. His comments in the discussion took on the appearance of a venting session as he shared that he doesn’t feel free within his current playing status because of the things that he has to give up to maintain his level of success. In his interview, Antonio mentions “personal time with myself to get my mind right”, “mental happiness”, and “thinking about the things that are important” and the compromise of not being able to do other things while sacrificing of himself to literally be at the top of his game. Of any phrase in this interview, the one that stands out to me most is when Antonio asks the question “am I really free?” Antonio is no different than you, I, or any other human…so I ask you the questions what is the cost of your freedom?,  and are you really free?In the balance of life, we often pay a price for things that we acquire. This could be something as small as spending change to buy candy from a vending machine, or as large as spending money to buy a yacht. These things are both relatively the same in that they both cost us something to get something in return. Based on some of Antonio’s aforementioned accolades and public knowledge of professional athletes salaries, it is assumed professional athletes are multimillionaires who have the perceived lifestyle that anyone would want. However, do we consider what has to be sacrificed in order to earn success, and is it worth it. For Antonio specifically, he has to train for football year-round in order to play sixteen weeks between August and December. The sacrifice that we have in common with Antonio is that in order to succeed we must work to develop ourselves daily, but at what cost?

Is it really worth it to sacrifice our freedom?

My thinking within this dynamic is that anything that we put in front of our own freedom is a hindrance to it. It is important to sacrifice in order to gain more in return, however, your personal, mental, and social freedoms are things that can have negative consequences when compromised. In my journey of pursuing my personal best I have been guilty of putting work, money, fear, and numerous other things in front of my freedom, but today I choose to maintain my freedom through any situation. What does it profit me to gain the whole world and lose sight of myself? So this week I ask you to engage in an exercise of self-reflection to ask yourself “what is the cost of my freedom” and “am I really free”. It is my contention that if you’re not creating and living a “free lifestyle” for yourself, you are unfortunately paying the ultimate price.

 

“freedom is as freedom does”

                       TGIF  
               "Thank God I'm Free"