Choose Free Will
Free Will
the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion.
Free will is the idea that we have control over our decisions. This seems pretty simple, but the more I learn about free will, the more overwhelmingly complicated it becomes.
I often have heard about free will in a supernatural and religious context, so it is important to look at what major world religions say about free will to better understand the word.
Judaism:
The Jewish religion teaches the idea that God gives everyone free will. Jews have free will to follow or not follow god-given commands. It is their responsibility to live a certain way because they have free will.
Christianity:
Free will is at the center of the Christian faith. Jesus taught that humans make their own decisions and can choose to follow or not follow God, and that choice determines their eternal standing with God.
Islam:
For Muslims, life is all about exercising free will and making decisions that you are then judged by Allah on. Muslims are rewarded or punished based on how they used their free will throughout their lives.
Hinduism:
Hindus believe that they have free will to act as they wish. A manifestation of this free will in Hinduism is the idea of karma, which rewards or punishes you based on your actions.
As you can see, many religions teach the idea that humans have free will.
Contrary to these religious beliefs, many argue that free will is an illusion; it’s something we think we have but we really don’t have at all. This is because there are outside factors such as our biology, other people, our surroundings, and our upbringings that have a great impact on our choices and the way we and our lives turn out. Here is an article from Philosophy Break detailing reasons Why You Probably Don’t Have Free Will.
Whether or not humans have free will is one of the most important questions to ask, but it is also one that is likely impossible to fully answer. Even people within the same religion disagree around what that religion says about free will.
There certainly are undeniable influences that limit free will in some ways, but I don’t think this means that we don’t have control over our lives. In fact, I believe that we should assume that we have complete free will over our lives.
The truth is, acknowledging the idea that we have free will to make our own decisions and live the life we want to live is a life-changing way to think. It is easy to get caught up in the ways outside factors limit us and our success, but fixating on this only holds us back.
Understanding that we have free will, even if limited in some ways, allows for positive life outcomes.
Similarly, we may also feel less moral responsibility for the outcomes of our actions. It may therefore be unsurprising that some studies have shown that people who believe in free will are more likely to have positive life outcomes – such as happiness, academic success and better work performance .
The Psychology of Believing in Free Will - The Conversation
Exercise Free Will by Taking Ownership!
A belief in free will is all about a belief that we control our actions and that our actions influence our outcomes. Life isn’t fair, and the best way to deal with the things holding us back is to take matters into our own hands because that is all we can truly control.
This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t fight for change if something is wrong and unfair. We can do this but still take personal responsibility for our decisions and outcomes. It’s easy to spend our lives blaming our individual outcomes on others and the environment, but doing this won’t lead to self-improvement or true fulfillment. In my life, the most fulfilling moments of success have been the moments in which I’ve taken a tough situation into my own hands and used my skills to make the best of it, instead of fixating on something I felt was unfair.
My friend wrote a fantastic article on how teenagers need to take control of their education instead of letting an often messed up system holds them back, and the lessons of this article can be applied to all areas of life.
To Maximize Success, Teenagers Need To Take Control Of Their Own Education - Austin Scholar
No matter what you think about free will and whether those beliefs come from religion or not, you have the ability to make whatever you want out of any challenge or situation you are in. You have the ability to control yourself and your life.
"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined and that we can do nothing to change it look before they cross the road."
- Stephen Hawking
Free will is a choice; we can choose to exercise free will, or we can choose to let outside factors control us.
Free will is the better choice.
Written by Peyton Price - Entertainment Vaues
