Greentext

Choices narrow, freedoms restrict, responsibilities build

I don't think freedoms really restrict, I think we end up restricting ourselves because we prioritize those responsibilities over our own desires. I think it's just our perception of what we can do changes, and we get more realistic about what we can achieve.

As you said, as we get older, we get more personal power and experience, and we have the option to try to pursue those, or to take the "easier" path and stick to our responsibilities. I find myself copping-out all the time (i.e. I have kids, so I don't spend time protesting/lobbying for change), yet I totally could make the time for other things if I really prioritize it. In fact, I've been considering running for office because I hate my local reps, I just haven't committed to it yet. But I could totally do it if I really wanted to.

I like the idea of circles of control vs influence (7 habits of highly effective people), or ILOC/ELOC (what my work uses). Basically, you have two groups of things:

1. circle of influence - what you can control, impact directly
2. circle of concern - things you care about, but cannot control or impact directly

Here's an image w/ some examples. As you get older, both circles increase in size. You can take proactive steps to increase the circle of influence faster than the circle of concern, which generally involves goal setting and internal motivation. And that gets hard when responsibilities mount and we just want to relax, and I would be lying if I didn't say the desire to relax beats my desire to grow my circle of influence most of the time.