Agency

People generally use the term “agency” in some manufactured way. Its use complicates the simplicity of the term. Agency is freedom. Agency is choice. When someone says that they have given up agency, what they’re saying in a roundabout way is that they, themselves, have given up the ability to choose something for themselves. The discomfort surrounding this is a direct result of just how fundamental agency is for our growth as individuals.

People typically say they want to feel in control of their decision making and time. That’s not entirely right. People do not wish to give up control of their decision making and time. They’re perfectly happy not making a decision or not choosing wisely how their time, so long as they are the author.

As you age, agency, more than money or power or fame or anything else, becomes more prominent, more cherished. The sandglass keeps pouring out, and you grasp for whatever specks are left.