When I speak to people about the Mental Freedom® principles, they will often say to me, “Kim, you make this sound so easy.” My response is typically, “Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s easy.”
One of the biggest misconceptions about personal growth is believing that complicated ideas create profound change. In reality, some of the deepest truths are remarkably simple.
But simple isn’t the same as easy.
Why We Distrust Simple Ideas
People often assume that for an idea to be intelligent, it must be complicated. Conversely, they might believe that simple either means shallow or common sense. But simple doesn’t mean easy, and common sense doesn’t mean it’s common.
Many timeless truths can be expressed in a single word or phrase: Forgive. Be patient. Listen. Choose. Accept reality.
Simple. But living those truths consistently is another matter entirely. That takes conscious, deliberate choosing and relentless practice.
The Difference Between Knowing and Living
Everyone knows that exercise is healthy. People know relationships require listening. Most people know that gratitude helps almost everything. Knowing these things isn’t hard; consistently putting them into practice in your life is.
People often say, “Knowledge is power.” But long ago, I learned something from Marcus Gentry: “Knowledge isn’t power. It’s the application of knowledge that’s power.”
In a recent episode of Life =Choices; Choices = Life, Dr. Marcella Finnerty described Mental Freedom as “accessible” and “manageable,” yet also profound because the practice gradually reshaped her thinking. It’s that practice that leads to profound. People can teach you the ideas, but it’s your effort, conscious choosing, and application that lead to personal growth and greater personal power. That’s why Mental Freedom provides information while leaving you to decide how, where, or even whether to apply it.
Why Practice Changes Us
Anyone who remembers learning to ride a bike knows you probably weren’t great at it the first time you tried. I remember falling off my bike a couple of times with my dad running alongside. But riding that bike day after day eventually gave me the skill and confidence to use it as transportation anywhere within about ten miles of where I lived as a child, with my parents’ permission, of course.
That’s what practice does.
There is a lot of science behind the development of habits. Repeating a behavior over time makes it increasingly automatic. You probably have a very well-developed habit of brushing your teeth. You’ve done it at least once a day for most of your life. If you pay attention, you’ll probably notice you do it automatically and in much the same way every time. Once something becomes habitual, it requires far less conscious awareness.
Changing an existing habit is different. If you’re trying to move from reacting to responding intentionally, for example, you’ll need conscious awareness in the beginning. You’re not simply creating a new habit; you’re replacing an ingrained response with a different one. That requires attention and practice until the new response becomes more natural.
The principle may be simple. Living it isn’t.
Choice Theory® Connection
One of the things I have always admired about Choice Theory psychology is that Glasser made it relatively simple to understand. But those who have committed to living their lives according to Choice Theory know there is a depth to it that only becomes apparent through application.
In fact, that’s exactly how Mental Freedom was born. It emerged from the depths of Choice Theory after I had been practicing and teaching it for almost 40 years.
Learning Choice Theory has often been compared to peeling the layers of an onion. You may begin with the commonsense idea that the only person’s behavior you can control is your own. Most people hear that and think, “Of course,” But knowing that you can’t control others doesn’t teach you how to stop wanting to control them. That understanding comes from peeling away the layers through years of living Choice Theory, catching yourself trying to control, recognizing what you’re doing, and making a different choice.
Mental Freedom works much the same way. We can understand a principle rather quickly, only to discover deeper meaning as we practice it in different circumstances. I explore that process further in Peeling the Onion.
Choice Theory has always emphasized behavior. Mental Freedom asks, “How will you apply this new information every day this week?” That’s where something simple begins to become something profound.
That weekly application is also at the heart of the Mental Freedom Experience.
Reflection
What simple truth have you known for years but not consistently lived?
What might happen if you did?
