A Stack of Amplifiers

Let me take a shot at describing a Highway to Yeah stack of amplifiers.

No, not Marshall amp stacks, but the things that amplify the Yeahs in your life.

It’s tied to the Personhood conceptual Model I have shared in previous articles, so let me briefly describe that as well.

The Personhood Stack consists of the Existential Layer, with the Relatively Unconscious Layer on top of it, and the Character Layer at the top.

Today, I am going to focus on the Existential Layer and its relationship to this Highway to Yeah amplifier stack.

You see, we work at the existential level to develop the freedom to live our truth. We start here, and we end here.

Often, the most significant changes come last and Requires us to return to this most basic level of personhood.

This is the level where we find our potential for freedom based on our Existential Capacities.

It is the layer of our personhood in which we develop the capacity for choice (will). It is the layer of our mobility freedom, given our age, where we live, and other ecological factors. It is the layer where we are free to use our imagination to dream of a different set of possibilities.

Viktor Frankl credits this capacity as part of what enabled him to endure the concentration camps.

It is also the layer of monk-like awareness that frees us from being stuck, hooked, triggered, or whatever itch we feel compelled to scratch.

Choose your spiritual tradition and you will find some version of this capacity being cultivated—Christ in the desert, Buddha under the tree, Lao Tzu contemplating water, etc.

Related to this capacity for awareness is our existential mood.

We are always in some sort of mood. It forms the backdrop for how we experience and express our emotions. Are we in a joyful mood? A fearful mood? An anxious mood?

Our world becomes colored and textured by the Mood lens through which we are looking.

Bottom line: we are never completely free.

Our freedom is always somewhat restricted at this layer.

Sorry, but those are the breaks, as Curtis Blow would sing.

Nevertheless, we can radically design a lifestyle that amplifies the freedom we do possess.

Time Freedom and Psychological freedom allow for this.

In fact, psychological freedom and time freedom are the foundational amplifiers in the stack.

Ignore these two and you can still get a lot done, but what is all that effort getting you?

Here is The Highway to Yeah amplifier stack To whIch I have been referring:

• Psychological Freedom

• Time Freedom

• Health & Fitness

• Relationships

• Vision and Commitment (for defining and implementing a Radical Lifestyle Design)

This Amplifier Stack may evolve over time, and I don’t have space to dive deeply into each of these components today.

Nevertheless, these are amplifiers that bring more Yeahs into our lives.

This is why we learn how to manage our time. It is why we focus on finances and achieving financial freedom. It is why we take time to Know Ourselves and understand how we relate to others.

We want more psychological freedom and more time freedom.

We want good health and meaningful relationships.

We want a future we can be excited about stepping into for as long as we are alive.

Yes, Getting on the Highway to Yeah is about developing the freedom to live your truth.

And, It is also about developing the capacity for a mood of adventure.

Sure, we will be fearful, anxious, bored, and joyful on the Highway to Yeah.

But overall, we will be on an adventure.

We’re on a Highway to Yeah.