Today the United States celebrates Independence Day.
This year marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence.
I am not American, so I will borrow the day for a slightly different reflection: individual independence.
Not independence from Britain.
Not even independence from society.
But independence as agency over your own life.
One pattern I observe often is passivity:
Waiting for something good to happen.
Waiting for someone else to choose.
Waiting for the right circumstances.
Delegating responsibility to another person, company, system, partner, or institution.
I chose a different route.
Almost radical ownership.
At some point I accepted that if my life was going to change, I had to become the main agent of that change.
Not the only person involved.
But the one responsible for moving.
That distinction matters.
Independence does not mean solving everything alone. Many of the biggest changes in my life happened through communities, teachers, friends, collaborators, and people I was not afraid to ask.
But asking for help is different from surrendering agency.
There are always external constraints. Money. Country. Family. Health. Timing. Randomness. Other people’s decisions.
But the mistake is to confuse constraints with helplessness.
Independence, in my book, means owning the agency over your life.
Happy Independence Day.
And happy birthday to Ron Kovic.
Universal Pictures official trailer for Born on the Fourth of July.
