The Intentional Choice of Free Will

Fate, Choice, and Our Active Participation in the Journey

Our answer to the question isn’t simply philosophical fodder - it determines our path forward. Do you see fate - the circumstances entering our lives - as a closed system, in which our future is essentially determined by those circumstances merging with our genes and our past?

Or - do you see destiny as a dialogue, in which your future self is calling you from the horizon, asking for a response? Or, as Martin Buber might say - the moment itself is asking for your response. Free will involves actively participating in the journey.

Actively participating in the journey. Don’t you love that? The merging of fate (the circumstances) and free will (how we respond to the circumstances). Coming back to the real world, it’s one thing to say we believe in free will... quite another to live out that belief.

Food, Fitness, and Free Will

The Catalyst Cornerstones of Move, Fuel, Rest, and Connect are simple in concept, but often difficult in context. Dial in these four essentials and all the other health & wellbeing headlines combined become little more than a rounding error. We get that... and yet... we often still allow our circumstances - rather than our free will - control over our lives.

For example, we have a solid fueling foundation at home. Then a business trip or a series of dinner meetings throws us off. Between airport food and client dinners, what can you do?? This is the exact moment where fate presents circumstances - and free will decides whether we will participate.

That’s precisely the right question - “What CAN I do?” It’s relatively easy to pack healthy snacks, and almost every airport now offers a plethora of healthy food options - if we look. Dinner meetings? Balance - not perfection. Enjoy, while also engaging your free will. Access smart options earlier in the day and consider readily available strategies at dinner. Dressing on the side? A single glass of wine? Skip the empty calorie bread? Smaller portion options? You get the idea.

Or perhaps we’re in a good fitness routine - regularly integrating our activity of choice into our weekly rhythm. Then we get injured, head out on vacation or the same business trip noted above. Those are significant barriers - what can you do? Again - this isn’t the absence of choice, but rather the invitation to choose differently.

• Trips? Select hotels with gyms (readily available), pack your shoes and schedule it like any other meeting. Then modify your routine rather than hitting the eject button. We maintain most of our established fitness 7-10 days if we include a little stimulus. Can’t hit the gym for an hour but could nail a 30 minute session most days? Great! Adapt - don’t abort. Along the way, look for expanded opportunities for steps, standing, and stairs.

• Injured? Ah yes - I’m well acquainted with this one. Can’t run? Then bike or swim. No bike? Elliptical, swim or row. No deadlifts? Consider a hex bar, and on and on. The key is maintaining your fitness placeholder. The individual who sees an injury as an “out” is missing the original point of being “in.” Remember: It’s much (much!) easier to STAY in shape than to GET in shape. Additionally, while there are exceptions (don’t treat this as medical advice), alternative activity also generally speeds our healing rate.

Free Will Participation

What CAN I do? Engaged participation is the difference between being stuck in fate’s circumstances and seeing those same circumstances as variables that open the door to free will. Today will not go as planned. Unexpecteds will occur. Do we throw up our hands in exasperation? Or pause, consider, and move forward while taking these new circumstances into account?

In the end, that is the question life is asking each of us.

Food and fitness examples are relatively straight-forward. The real challenge comes with health issues, financial struggles, relational barriers, unexpected demands, or other left-field variables. Life is difficult, and the second half isn’t exactly a walk in the park. It presents a multitude of never-ending, challenging circumstances. When they appear, we listen for our future self, calling out to us from beyond the horizon, asking for a response.

And in that moment, we stand up, wipe the dirt from our hands, and remember we’re not... done... yet!

PS - Dr. Cooper has launched a new project - The Catalyst Lab: Tiny Sparks. Enduring Insights. It provides 4 brief highlights (Explore, Discover, Leverage and Reflect) in a 60 second read. You can access the latest release here or the initial version here and subscribe free of charge if you find it to be of value. Thank you for your encouraging support. We hope it makes a difference for someone.