Brave Enough
Letters on fear, courage, and meaning
I thought I'd broken free.
Instead, I found .
I sit down at my desk, blood pumping from the workout, skin tingling from the frigid shower.
Above the desk, a scrap of paper stares back at me: What I want, when I want, how I want.
That was the distillation of my obsession. Freedom not two weeks of vacation in Cabo, but the chance to shape my life on my own terms.
And I did it.
This letter isn't about the limits of achievement. I wrote that last week.
This one is about what I got wrong: the myth that once you secure freedom, happiness follows.
It's not true.
What I didn't realize is that even more important than freedom to, is freedom from.
And not just freedom from a boss or mortgage freedom from your own demons.
We might hold every freedom, yet remain miserable if our inner world is ruled by anxiety, fear, and comparison.
These chains keep us tied to misery no matter how life looks on the outside.
Even when I was traveling the world, the same fears kept cropping up: fear of running out of money, of not doing enough, of letting someone down.
Maybe for you it’s different the fear of being unseen, of not measuring up, of being alone. But maybe you've felt this too: the battles with anxiety, comparison, and endless striving despite success.
True freedom requires breaking these chains within our own souls.
Often, they aren't new at all they're links to our past. Pain we never faced, stories we never questioned.
To walk free, we have to be willing to turn toward what we've spent years turning away from.
As Jung warned, unless we bring the unconscious into the light, it will direct our lives and we'll call it fate.
It's far harder than building an online business, but the peace that comes from loosening their grip is incomparable.
Most days I find myself before the lock, key in hand, wondering if I'm brave enough to turn it.
What chains of yours need breaking?
With love,
Ryan
P.S. If this letter made you think of someone, please consider passing it along. It means more than you know.