India celebrates its independence day on 15th August. More than 6 decades ago on this day India attained freedom from British Rule. USA claimed its independence on 4^th July more than 2 centuries ago.

People celebrate Independence Day in variety of ways — by sleeping whole day, emailing and texting people to wish and connect; some use this time to go out and have fun. All are worthwhile pursuits for 21^st century overworked professional.

It is hard to imagine how people in pre-independence days lived. We can only read and try to know more about the lifetimes of people who struggled to find freedom for themselves and those who fought to get it for future generations. We live in a free nation thanks to all those who sacrificed their lives.

We still experience the joy of finding freedom in small ways.

• A kid experiences this feeling the day examinations end. For her this means freedom from the rigor of study for a little while.
• A person experiences this after getting out from an abusive relationship.
• Somebody who just got out of a long-haul economy class flight can also relate.

I use my freedom to write and share my thoughts with you almost every day. Can you imagine – the right to free speech and writing your thoughts – was just a dream in pre-independence era?

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Is there a better idea?

Better idea, why just celebrate a single day, celebrate life by living it to the fullest.

World today is reeling under a different kind of slavery, spending hours on unwanted chores. Let us explore the way out, the way to true freedom.

To attain true freedom

Do not be the slave of mind: Train your mind to entertain positive thoughts and focus on attaining freedom from negative thoughts. For starters, share your love with an open heart with the world. Try meditation.

Do not be the slave of your tongue: Do not eat whatever you want. Think about it first.   Train your tongue to relish clean food. Make a beginning with a day or two of mindful eating every week. If you can – do it 30 days in a row — you will be able to train it faster.

Do not become slave of time: Train people – not to expect a response the moment they send you an email. You can start by NOT checking your email every 15 minutes. Do it once or twice a day — as it suits you. Live life on your terms and not the way world thinks you should live it. Serve the world if that is your way and be mutually respectful but also set right expectations. Want to get more from your time, try 4×4.

Make money work for you: Work on attaining financial freedom. This is a worthwhile cause for the credit-card generation. Focus on this and you will get closer to live the life you want.

Make your space work for you: Work on making your home and your work space clutter free. It will facilitate clear mind and thoughts. Use this day for spring cleaning; start with cleaning a part of your wardrobe. Give away old stuff that you do not use anymore to somebody in need. You create free space for yourself and add some useful stuff to another life.

Do not be slave of your job: Focus on doing meaningful work. Say goodbye to work that you do not enjoy. Do it one by one. Start today. Do something which brings satisfaction to you. Start by exploring a parallel path.

Hope you got some worthwhile ideas to start celebrate your freedom. Let us get started. There is no better day than today.

How are you celebrating your freedom?

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