Independence Day

As I write this article my friends in the United States are celebrating Independence Day.  The day the then 13 colonies in America chose to throw off the shackles of their colonial masters and instead declare their independence from Great Britain.  Well, perhaps not quite the day that happened.  The Declaration of Independence was issued on July 2nd, not July 4th.  John Adams declared July 2nd would be "the most memorable Epocha in the History of America",  but the final revision of the Declaration was not finalized until July 4th, so July 2nd is not regarded as very important at all.  One could argue, in fact, that the true Independence Day was August 2nd, as that is when most of the signatures were appended to the Declaration.  Or September 3rd, as that is the day in 1783 that the Revolutionary War ended.  Or even November 25th, being the day British troops left with their tails between their legs.  But I guess, given the different possible interpretations of exactly when the United States gained its Independence, the choice of July 4th is as good as any!

But when is your Independence Day?  Not the day your country, wherever it may be, became independent from whichever colonial power tried to insist it was an owned colony rather than a free state.  But the day you personally became independent?  The day you personally freed yourself from shackles and became your own man or woman.  When was that?  Or have you not yet gained your independence?  Is this something for which you must still fight?

Independence from what?  Independence from all the rules that are stopping you from being who you really want to be and achieving what you really want to achieve.

And who imposes those rules on you?  A king in a far off land?  No.  The government in your own land?  No.  Your parents, your spouse, your teacher, your boss?  None of these.  The person who imposes and enforces these restraining rules on you is none other than yourself!

What is stopping you from being who you really want to be?  A voice inside you telling you that it is wrong to want to be that person.  A voice that says it is too difficult.  A voice that says you don't have the right to be that way.  A voice that may have originally arisen because of something your parents, teachers, "friends", or maybe other "authorities" through the subtleties of hidden messages in the books you read and films or dramas you watch on TV.  But a voice that is now a part of you and that is determined to stop you changing in any way.

So in order to become what you want to be, to live the kind of life you want to live, first you must claim your own Independence from the colonial power within you.  The power that arose from somewhere outside of you, but is now an integral inner part of you.  Just as there were many colonials born and living in 18th century America who wanted to maintain the colonial rule of King George III (or, more accurately, of Lord Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guildford, who was the real power behind the throne).

How do you obtain your own Independence?

First, by recognizing that at the moment you are not a free man or woman.  That there are voices within that do not want you to succeed, that do not want you or your life to change for the better.  Recognizing this is your July 2nd.  A day that will be "the most memorable Epocha in the History of [insert your name here]".  Your John Adams moment.

Second, by drawing your line in the sand.  When you say "enough is enough - I will no longer obey or even listen to this voice!"  Your July 4th moment.

Third, by conducting an ongoing struggle against the parasite within you that does not want you to gain your Independence.

The American Revolutionary War lasted 8 years.  Your Internal Revolutionary War will probably last a lot longer, as you will be fighting not against one colonial power but a multitude of powers.  But do not let this depress you, as your first Independence Day will be a lot earlier than this as long as you write your own Declaration of Independence now.  You will have many wins.  With each win your life will become better.  And with each win you will identify another colonial power whose defeat will allow you to have an even better life.  With each win you will become more powerful, and more able readily to defeat all those inner voices holding you back.

Today is Independence Day.  Your Independence!  Make your Declaration of Independence right now and claim the territory that is rightfully yours!

The Declaration of Independence

On 4th July 1776 the Continental Congress approved the final draft of the Declaration of Independence.

To achieve independance from Great Britain, the United States had to go through a lot of hard struggle and pain.  At times it must have seemed an impossible challenge.  But no matter how impossible it looked, they didn't give up.  They had a clear goal they were determined to reach, and reach it they did.  And the starting point was the Declaration of Independence.  Putting down on paper very clearly and precisely what it was they wanted to achieve, and particularly why they wanted to achieve it.

Putting down in writing exactly what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it is a key step in achieving any goal.

Firstly, there is the "what".  Sometimes we think we want to achieve one thing, but when we commit pen to paper and our goal takes shape we realize that goal is something a little different from what we had imagined.  Fleshing out our goal this way is a very important step.  Otherwise we may find we are struggling to achieve something that later we decide is not so important - in which case we will probably give up the struggle.  Think very carefully about your "what".

Secondly there is the "why".  This is very important in providing the right motivation when things seem to be going wrong and the goal seems further away than we had originally imagined.  If this really is a key goal for you then I can pretty much guarantee you will face such crises.  Without strong motivation it would be so easy to give up at that point.  Read the Declaration of Independence and see just how much of it is about the "why" rather than the "what".  A lot of thought went into that "why".  Think really hard about your own "why".  Think about how much better life will be for you and your family when you have achieved your goal, and put that down on paper.

Imagine the founding fathers had decided not to bother writing the Declaration of Independence.  Without the power of that document providing inspiration and motivation, would Washington have managed to keep the militias fighting when supplies dried up and the challenge seemed impossible?  Perhaps, but it would have been a lot more difficult and perhaps he would not have succeeded.  

Make sure you have your own Declaration of Independence which shows clearly what you want to achieve and why, and you should find it much easier to achieve that goal.

With thanks to Thad Zajdowicz for the image of Thomas Jefferson signing the Declaration of Independence.