18 Ways How To Be A Free Spirited Person In 2023

In our newsletter, we often discuss how to become a free-spirited person.

How much would you be willing to let go of to have inner peace and to become a free spirited person? Would you let go of Netflix? Your cellphone? Facebook? Would you live a minimalist life?

In 2021, society tries to sell us our emotions, our happiness, our sense of self-worth. And many people are slaves to society.

We’re given labels to tell us how “successful” we are. We’re told that if we take a package holiday, buy the latest smartphones, and drive new cars, we will be happy. It’s society’s lie. And sadly, it stops many people from becoming their ideal self.

All spiritually enlightened people know that peace comes within. Just like Buddha said, “Inner peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” Indeed, one of the reasons why spirituality is so important in life is that it helps you to see through the lies and to realise that happiness lies within you, not outside. And when you are free in that way, you gain the power to stay positive no matter what.

So without further ado, here is how to be a free spirited person.

18 Ways How To Be Free Spirited

1.   Live for now

One of my favourite Wayne Dyer quotes is: “Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.”

Accepting life as it is, letting things be, being conscious of the present moment, these all help with inner peace and happiness.

2. Release the past

What’s past is prologue. That’s probably my favourite Shakespeare quote. Because it is true.

Our past experiences are lessons that teach us what we need to know now. We are not our past.

Learn from the past. Use the past to inform you in the present moment, but focus on now.

3. Let go of being right

Life is not about being right or wrong. There are infinite perspectives, not “right and wrong”, but a million shades inbetween.

Let go of being right.

Embrace the opinions of others; let yourself be wrong and make mistakes. Embrace it all, because it is all life.

4.  Release bad relationships

Sometimes you have to release individual people. If they are meant to be in your life, they will catch up.

Letting go of bad relationships gives us the chance to make new relationships. Plus, it removes negative energy from our lives. Most likely, you won’t become a free-spirited person unless you remove negative people from your life.

5. Let go of the self

You cannot be free while you are forcing a false identity on yourself. Dualistic thinking blinds us. When we are too focused on the “self” we become consumed by our own desires. Plus, we deprive ourselves of one of life’s best joys: helping others.

Let go of self-obsession and practice random acts of kindness instead.

6. Release titles and stature

Society is hellbent on giving us labels. We cannot define people by a job title or a status. People are infinite, unique, beautiful, magical beings. And you’re one of them.

Release job titles. Release statuses. See yourself for the miraculous energy that is your true being.

There are many similar things to let go of—anything that puts you in a box; let it go!

7: Let go of false positivity

We all know those people who tell us they have no regrets, no remorse, that they are always positive. And to those people I say bullshit.

We all experience low times. We have to. Because if we do not experience lows, we do not experience the full tapestry of life.

You have to recognise that negativity is a part of life. That’s the key to staying strong when bad things happen. Remind yourself that it is all part of the experience of life.

8. Get out of your comfort zone

Remember when you were learning to swim? Your mother held you safely in the shallow zone. Then she did the most important thing: she let go. And one way or another, you began to swim, and you made it further into the deep zone, exploring the whole pool.

That’s a great metaphor for life.

We can choose to stick in the shallow, safe, comfort zone, or we can get out of our comfort zone and explore life fully. 

9. You’ll never be a free until you release your fears

Fear is a lead weight in the vessel of the human soul. It sinks us. Don’t allow it to stop you from doing…anything.

We all know the old saying, “Feel the fear and do it anyway”. It’s famous for a reason. When we let go of fear, we liberate the positive energy within us.

 Let go.

Let life itself take over.

Give up control.

Embrace the wild nature of the world.

10. Relax

The more rigid and stiff we are, the harder it is to move. That’s true for muscles, and it’s true spiritually, too.

Writing for Psychology Today [3] Leslie Becer Phelps, PhD says, “I was walking the main trail in New Hampshire’s Franconia Notch State Park when a staff member pointed out a small path off to the side.

“He suggested that I check out the ‘wolf den’. It consisted of a few boulders wedged together, leaving a small, covered opening to squeeze through. When he mentioned that a number of people have gotten stuck in there, I asked how he gets them out.

“He chuckled and said, ‘Well, we can’t move the rocks.’ Then he explained that he just waits. After about fifteen minutes of struggling, they give up… their bodies relax and they can slip right through.”

How remarkably like the philosophies of the Buddha.

Ultimately, if you want to free your spirit, learn to relax.

Relax and accept the present moment, and you will be freed. That’s pretty much the entire philosophy of Buddhism.

12: Just go with it

Right now, we might feel stuck in life. And we might trick ourselves into believing that our feelings are a reality because your thoughts create your reality.

You have to stop thinking that you are stuck in life. And to do that, you’re going to need to stop listening to your emotions.

Scientific studies have proven that emotions do not stem from any rational interpretation of the facts. Actually, they’re just emotion.

In 2004 scientists asked members of the electorate how they felt after hearing a negative comment about their favourite politicians. The results showed that emotions flared after a negative comment even if that comment was founded in truth and even if it was unimportant and trivial. In other words, we get emotional about abject bullshit.

So, if you feel stuck, if you feel like you’re not free in life, realise that it is just a feeling, and do not let it influence you.   

13: To free your spirit, imagine you already are free

To change a feeling, we need to act in spite of it.

• If we’re sad, we need to do happy things
• When we are stressed, we should do relaxing things
• If we’re feeling stuck in life, we need to do free-spirited things.

When you act as though you are free you will suddenly become free. If you act as though you are trapped, you will continue to feel trapped.

So, what would a liberated person do?

• Go for a run
• Spend time outdoors
• “Just chill out, man, whatever”
• Meditate in the middle of nowhere
• Do something crazy and fun
• Spend time at the beach
• Do anything that you would do if you were feeling completely free in life

 14: Get A Grip On Your Brain Chemicals 

Whether you’re feeling stuck or feeling free, it probably has a lot to do with brain chemicals.

HowStuffWorks tells us:

“Your brain is a complex network that processes vast quantities of information every second. Part of the brain’s information-processing network includes neurons, or cells that transmit signals throughout the brain.

“Neurons send signals through neurotransmitters, which are chemicals some release and others receive. These chemicals essentially let the parts of the brain communicate with each other. [4]

“The three most commonly studied neurotransmitters are dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. Dopamine is related to experiences of pleasure and the reward-learning process. In other words, when you do something good, you’re rewarded with dopamine and gain a pleasurable, happy feeling. This teaches your brain to want to do it again and again.

Serotonin, meanwhile, is a neurotransmitter associated with memory and learning. Researchers believe it plays a part in the regeneration of brain cells, which has been linked to easing depression. An imbalance in serotonin levels results in an increase in anger, anxiety, depression and panic. Norepinephrine helps moderate your mood by controlling stress and anxiety.”

These chemicals are incredibly important because they affect your emotions, and, as we’ve seen, your emotions are affecting everything else. Therefore, if you balance your brain chemicals (through meditation, exercise, and diet), you will start to feel better.

15:  Release perfectionism

When you are too focused on perfection, you will feel stuck in life. Once you let go, you become a free-spirited person.

Perfectionism is usually a cover-up. We feel shameful about something. We fail to accept a part of ourselves. So, we cover it up with a million imagined ways in which we are perfect, even though we are all beautifully flawed human beings.

Perfectionists feel stuck because they are:

• Too concerned about their looks
• Preoccupied with their careers
• Unable to accept weaknesses and work on them
• Pretend they are someone they are not (an imagined, more “perfect” version of themselves)
• Unable to relax and have fun

Let go of perfectionism and you will stop feeling trapped in life.

16: Focus on a different goal

When we obsess over one goal in life, we sometimes feel trapped, as though our entire being revolves around that one goal.

When we change goals, we change our perspective. When we change perspective, we look at life in a new way. In other words, it frees the spirit.

There are so many possible different goals to focus on. For instance, focus on making someone else happy, on a hobby, on spiritual development.

17: To become a free-spirited person, let yourself be happy today

Too many people put demands on their happiness.

‘I’ll be happy when I’m successful.”

“If I only lost weight, I would be happy.”

“I’ll be happy once I have the perfect boyfriend / girlfriend”.

No. Be happy now. Happiness leads to success, not the other way around.

18: Stop being a slave to society

Far too many people are slaves to society.

When we are born, the universe intends for us to be free and to dance through the world with the freedom of a firefly. But social pressure and peer pressure get in the way.

• You don’t have to do what society dictates.
• Just because Vogue tells you what to wear, doesn’t mean you have to.
• If your parents demand you do a certain job, stick it to them and be true to yourself.
• You do you.

Stop being a slave to society.  

SOURCES: 

1: The No Nation Generation, PATRICK GILLIGAN, https://www.movehub.com/blog/no-nation-generation/

2: More Than Half Of U.S. Workers Are Unhappy In Their Jobs, Jack Kelly https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/10/25/more-than-half-of-us-workers-are-unhappy-in-their-jobs-heres-why-and-what-needs-to-be-done-now/#63626d420247

3: Feeling stuck? How to get free, Leslie Becker-Phelps Ph.D. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/making-change/201009/feeling-stuck-how-get-free

4: 5 Ways Your Brain Influences Your Emotions, CAITLIN UTTLEY, How Stuff Works https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/5-ways-your-brain-influences-your-emotions.htm

Paul Harrison

Paul Harrison is a passionate meditation teacher who believes in genuine, authentic meditation. He has more than 15 years experience in meditation and mindfulness. He studied meditation in beautiful Oxford, UK, and Hamilton Ontario Canada, and earned his degree at Staffordshire University.

“My goal is to provide the most authentic meditation sessions so you can harness the power of your own mind for personal transformation” – Paul Harrison