Being Libertarian is not easy. However, if you concentrate in two rules life becomes easier. As a matter of fact, life becomes liberating. Both rules originate and derive from The Most Important Lesson.
IT IS MY LIFE
It is my life.
This is the first rule. As my life is my property it is entirely up to me to do or not do something with it. It falls entirely on my shoulders to make something happen or not. It is my will and my will alone that decides what happens next. My life does not depend from other people or organizations as they have no power to impose anything onto me that I have not previously agreed to. I am fully responsible for all my acts at all times for better or worse. It is up to me to improve or worsen my situation, up to me to become something or to vanish in the dustbin of history. I am the only sovereign in my life and my decisions are final. I do not answer to higher authorities simply because there are none. It is my life.
IT IS MY DECISION
My life is mine because it is my property but having a property without a meaningful way to make decisions is pointless. I may as well give up on it… or… I can follow the second rule.
I'll make the best decisions I can with the information I have at hand.
This is as best as any human can do. I won't delude myself and I will take honest decisions. But those decisions will be based on incomplete and partially erroneous information… which will change over time. My best decision today will be different from my best decision tomorrow. Yet, this is as best as I can do and if I do my best, there will be no reason for regrets if the decision turns out to be erroneous. I fully recognize and accept that I am only human and as such flawed. I fully recognize that making decisions based on information is always better than making them without any information… however imperfect that information may be. My goal in making decisions is to make meaningful decisions not to make perfect decisions. My goal in making decisions is to recognize that I may need to change them as information changes. My goal in making decisions is to correct them when in error without ego or hesitation. My goal in making decisions is to be able to live with them.
THE TWO RULES
These are the two rules that many of the F&P authors live by. They are simple yet powerful rules. They are Libertarian rules but beyond that, they are human rules that we can all live by. And that's it. Gold nuggets don't need extra glitter to be valuable, they are valuable because of their weight… as our rules are.
You may not want to abide by them and that is entirely your decision. Unfortunately the only other option is to have rules imposed to you. Your choice, as always.
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.