True personal freedom is to live as you are, to do what you want, and to spend time with people you like.

For many of us, personal freedom is a distant dream. We’re tied down by obligations that we never wanted in the first place. So why do we still end up living a life we don’t want?

We live in deception because the truth is too painful. But no one wants to live in deception, as the stoic philosopher Epictetus once observed:

“Who wishes to live in deception—tripped up, mistaken, undisciplined, complaining, in a rut? No one. These are base people who don’t live as they wish; and so, no base person is free.”

We all know that everything has a price. So what does it take to be truly free? If you want to live on your own terms and do as you please, you must give up the following 4 things.