Everyone Says They Have No Choice

They all say we have no control over our lives, but if our own hearts have no control, how can our lives?

This article does not deny the constraints of reality. Freedom is not about having no limits, but about still being able to make choices that align with our hearts within those limits.

I sat in the corner of the café, coffee in hand, my gaze drifting casually out the window. From the next table, the conversation of three people reached my ears.

A (sighing): Lately, it really feels like I have no choice. Working overtime every day, the mortgage and car payments are suffocating me. I can’t even manage my own life anymore.

B (with a bitter smile): Yeah, my parents want me to take the safe path, and the pressure from reality is so heavy. It feels like all my options are blocked off.

C (calmly): What you’re talking about… is it really that there are no choices? Or is it just that you’re afraid of taking risks, and feel the safe path is more comfortable?

I listened quietly, already turning the question over in my mind.

The Modern Dilemma of “Having No Control”

A: I’d love to quit my job too, but if I did, I wouldn’t know what to do next. Where’s the freedom in that?

B: Same here. With the mortgage and car loan weighing me down, my dreams just have to be put on hold for now.

C: You’re blaming your sense of powerlessness on external pressures, but more of it is internal fear. You’re afraid of taking responsibility, so you feel “you have no choice.”

A (thoughtfully): So you’re saying… it’s not that I don’t have options, but that I lack the courage?

C: Exactly. The real chains aren’t external. They’re inside your own heart.

True Freedom: It Starts with the Heart

B: But isn’t freedom about being able to do whatever you want?

C: Freedom is more about inner conviction. Even with limited circumstances, if your heart is clear about what you truly want, that is true freedom.

Watching them, I felt that last line strike a deep chord: If we cannot even heed our own hearts, how can we expect our actions to be free?

B: So what we usually think of as “having no choice” is actually just a lack of resolve, or a fear of taking risks?

C: That’s right. Many people mistake it for reality not allowing them, when in truth, their hearts are simply not brave enough.

Finding Freedom Within Constraints

B: So what do we do to live a little more freely?

C: First, recognize what you truly want, not what others expect of you. A lot of this “having no control” is actually “the heart not daring to act.”

A: Then is complete freedom impossible?

C: Freedom isn’t about having no constraints. It’s about making the choice that best aligns with your heart from within the options you do have. No matter how oppressive reality is, you can start small, gradually building your courage.

I watched as their expressions slowly relaxed, as if they understood something new.

The street outside grew quiet. I finished my coffee, stood up, and left.

This thing called “having no control over one’s life” is mostly a constraint of the heart. Life is full of limitations, but the true wisdom lies in how to live as oneself within them.