Feeling Trapped at Work? You Are Already Free

working at the cafe, a photo by elizajanecurtis on Flickr.

After leaving my last full-time staff job last spring, a wonderful opportunity that ultimately wasn’t a fit, I decided to try my hand at freelancing for a while—to date without getting married so I could make smart decisions about where to cast my lot long-term. This is actually my second time at the rodeo; I freelanced for about four years a decade or so ago. That time, I had reached a point of burnout in my career and yearned for days at home, in sun-dappled brownstone Brooklyn, moving to my own rhythms and working on my own terms. As I was planning the big move, it was freedom I longed for.

So here I am in my ripped jeans, favorite gray sweatshirt, and black-rimmed glasses, sitting on the sofa, living and pondering the freelance life once again. I’m reminded, of course, of what every working freelancer knows: Freedom isn’t free, nor is it even freedom. It’s alarmingly expensive (hello, COBRA), you are never off, (the freelancer, especially the freelance writer, is often a ruminator by nature and by necessity) and you still have a boss—a lot of them (if you’re lucky), also known as your clients.

What may be most valuable about freelancing, though, is the sense of autonomy it offers—and you don’t have to quit your job to get the benefit. Simply thinking as a free agent can be an empowering mindset that anyone, regardless of job, career or level of contentment, can use to his or her advantage. Think of yourself as an entrepreneur, and you are automatically the subject of your life, rather than the object of someone else’s. Think of your employer as your client, and suddenly, a little window of gratitude opens in your soul, a sense of self-esteem that you have something marketable to offer and that someone is paying for it. Think of your current job as an assignment, and break the chains of believing that you are unable to change or leave it. Think of your unemployment as a sabbatical and it transforms into an invitation to deep reflection and exploration, with the assumption of an exciting next chapter. Think of your failures as information pointing the way forward, and you become courageous. Think of yourself as your own boss, and you become responsible.

Powerlessness is nothing but a thought that can be changed. The freelance mindset reminds us that we are already free.