Month: November 2009

The Paradox of Routine and Freedom

Routine works. Establishing one does not make life boring or formulaic, but it does set up guide posts where true freedom and excitement can take place.

A routine I recently established was getting up at 6 a.m. This guide post has given my days structure. It has established a time where I can write this.

With the responsibility of fatherhood, I have had to change my focus from myself to my family. And having a family is a sure way to confuse and throw a wrench into any established order or normalcy in life.

However, I established this routine months after my son was born. It opened up the possibilities of being a great dad while still caring for my own needs.

The last several mornings now I woke up two minutes before my alarm was set to go off. Each time I glanced at my phone, and it showed 5:58. It’s only been a few weeks since I started, but already the routine is freeing me from the annoying buzz of the alarm.

Before I started working on this I’d be sleeping deeply and when my alarm would sound, I’d hit the snooze button two or three times. The idea, of course was that “10 more minutes and I’ll be rested and ready for the day.” But snoozing three times adds up to a half hour of frequently interrupted sleep.

On the other hand, getting up and getting going shakes off the sleepiness much faster than laying awake in bed between pressing the snooze button.

Routine has given my day something new–a beginning. Rather than drifting into the day from a haze of sleep and snoozing, establishing a routine has created a clear delineation between night time and day time.

Also, my wife and I have been working to establish a routine for our baby. We’re starting to see the first fruits of our efforts. The last several nights now, he’s slept soundly from when we laid him in the crib until after I got up.

These routines do not diminish the freedom and spontaneity of a day. It is exactly the opposite, yet still a paradox. Fixed and strictly adhered-to routines create more freedom in a day than an open schedule.

I haven’t established strict guidelines for what I’ll do when I first get up. I try to read, write, or exercise, but sometimes I surf around on the web, play with the baby if he’s awake, or spend some time in prayer.

However, no matter what I decide to spend the time doing, it is something I wouldn’t be able to do if I didn’t have the routine established to get started.

By setting up a few starting guide posts, I was able to establish much greater freedom in my day. And now I’m searching for similar opportunities in other possible routines.

by Jonathan Frei

The Myth of Self Reliance


Self reliance is a myth. Humans are social creatures that need interaction for emotional well-being and sustenance. The concept of self reliance, however, implies that we can make it alone.
True self reliance would involve a complete withdrawal from society, a Thoreau-like retreat to Walden Pond or a John-the-Baptist-like wandering in the desert. However, even there the fish of the lake or the locus of the wilderness provided what they could not provide for themselves.
Spending a dollar admits that I need what someone else has. Working to earn a dollar admits reliance on either an employer or on customers.
Since pure self reliance is impossible, we must all be dependent. However, there is good dependence and bad dependence. Learning about the good and shutting out the bad is the way forward.
Bad dependence is reliance on others. Good dependence is reliance on others–and yourself. In the second, the difference is learning to count on, trust, and rely on those around me. This is difficult, since it’s easy to mistrust people. However, this skill is critical to forming well balanced relationships with the people you know and encounter.
Driving on the highway, I need to trust that the car I’m passing won’t suddenly swerve into my lane and run me off the road. I rely on the driver’s competence. However, in this situation I also rely on my own driving skills and knowledge to not pass on the left and to avoid cars that are weaving in and out of their lanes.
I work in sales. I rely on my employer to pay me each period, but I also rely on myself to perform. My employer also relies on me to perform. The action it takes to secure my performance is to pay me each period. There we have an example of a well balanced mutually reliant relationship.

A pure reliance, on other hand, is out of balance and even harmful to the individual. Reliance on a person or entity without that entity relying on you is dependence. It plants and nurtures an entitlement mentality. The feeling that you deserve something without earning is a direct result of this one way reliance.
This is why welfare is so damaging to individuals. They receive benefits from the government that they are trained to rely on. The government does not receive any reciprocated benefit. This one way relationship of giving is not generosity, and it does not promote a society built on balanced and mutually reliant social relationships.
When the cycle becomes one of take take take instead of give take give take, the relationship shifts from that of two people to that of a house pet. I’m not calling welfare recipients animals. Many people truly need assistance to survive. However, when dependence replaces mutual self reliance, it diminishes a distinctly human.
I’m learning the beauty of mutual self reliance. It reveals the deeper value the people in my life have, and shows me my own intrinsic value which I provide through our relationship.

Photo by Nicholas T

by Jonathan Frei