{"id":21898,"date":"2026-03-11T11:59:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:13:09","slug":"how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Be Truly Free and Happy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It has been said that those who are willing to give up the most, gain the most. While most of us believe this to be true, we are hesitant to apply it to our lives. People like to hold onto things. Unfortunately, most of what we hold onto is materialistic.<\/p>\n<p>I remember when my brother-in-law passed away. Some of us went to his apartment to sort out his belongings. It wasn\u2019t long before we realized that most of the items that were important to him had little value to us. <em>He<\/em> was the most important thing to us, and his belongings wouldn\u2019t bring him back.<\/p>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ada4f91 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ada4f91\" data-element_type=\"container\" id=\"home-banner-stn\">\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72e6e8eb elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"72e6e8eb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Community Newsletter<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-261bcec elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"261bcec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Get More Inspiration Delivered to Your Inbox<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9787b46 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget-mobile__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-wp-widget-ninja_forms_widget\" data-id=\"9787b46\" data-element_type=\"widget\" id=\"front-banner-signup\" data-widget_type=\"wp-widget-ninja_forms_widget.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<noscript class=\"ninja-forms-noscript-message\"><br \/>\n\tNotice: JavaScript is required for this content.<\/noscript><\/p>\n<style>\n<p>        \/* FORM STYLES *\/<\/p>\n<p>        #nf-form-5-cont {\n                                    background-color:#ffffff;\n                                                    border-radius:35px;\n-webkit-border-radius:35px;                    }\n    <\/style>\n<style>\n<p>        \/* FIELDS STYLES *\/<\/p>\n<p>        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-27-wrap {\n                                            margin:0;\nborder-radius: 25px;\n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;                    }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-27-wrap .nf-field-element .ninja-forms-field {\n                                    background-color:#ffffff;\n                                            border-color:#ffffff;\n                                                    margin-bottom:0;\nborder-radius: 25px;\n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;                    }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-28-wrap {\n                                    width:120px;\n                            }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-28-wrap .nf-field-element .ninja-forms-field {\n                                    background-color:#00ab84;\n                                            width:120px;\n                    }\n        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-28-wrap .nf-field-element .ninja-forms-field:hover {\n                                    background-color:#00ab84;\n                    }\n    <\/style>\n<p>        <!-- That data is being printed as a workaround to page builders reordering the order of the scripts loaded--><br \/>\n        <script>var formDisplay=1;var nfForms=nfForms||[];var form=[];form.id='5';form.settings={\"objectType\":\"Form Setting\",\"editActive\":true,\"title\":\"Sign up for Newsletter\",\"show_title\":0,\"allow_public_link\":0,\"embed_form\":\"\",\"clear_complete\":0,\"hide_complete\":0,\"default_label_pos\":\"above\",\"wrapper_class\":\"master-signup-form-wrap\",\"element_class\":\"master-signup-form\",\"key\":\"\",\"add_submit\":0,\"currency\":\"\",\"unique_field_error\":\"A form with this value has already been submitted.\",\"logged_in\":false,\"not_logged_in_msg\":\"\",\"sub_limit_msg\":\"The form has reached its submission limit.\",\"calculations\":[],\"container_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"title_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"row_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"row-odd_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"success-msg_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"error_msg_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"formContentData\":[{\"order\":1,\"cells\":[{\"order\":0,\"fields\":[\"master_signup_email\"],\"width\":66},{\"order\":1,\"fields\":[\"subscribe_now_1660636976556\"],\"width\":34}]}],\"changeEmailErrorMsg\":\"Please enter a valid email address!\",\"changeDateErrorMsg\":\"Please enter a valid date!\",\"confirmFieldErrorMsg\":\"These fields must match!\",\"fieldNumberNumMinError\":\"Number Min Error\",\"fieldNumberNumMaxError\":\"Number Max Error\",\"fieldNumberIncrementBy\":\"Please increment by \",\"formErrorsCorrectErrors\":\"Please correct errors before submitting this form.\",\"validateRequiredField\":\"This is a required field.\",\"honeypotHoneypotError\":\"Honeypot Error\",\"fieldsMarkedRequired\":\"Fields marked with an <span class=\"ninja-forms-req-symbol\">*<\/span> are required\",\"container_styles_background-color\":\"#ffffff\",\"container_styles_border\":\"\",\"container_styles_height\":\"\",\"container_styles_margin\":\"\",\"container_styles_padding\":\"\",\"container_styles_float\":\"\",\"container_styles_advanced\":\"border-radius:35px;n-webkit-border-radius:35px;\",\"title_styles_border\":\"\",\"title_styles_height\":\"\",\"title_styles_width\":\"\",\"title_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"title_styles_margin\":\"\",\"title_styles_padding\":\"\",\"title_styles_float\":\"\",\"row_styles_border\":\"\",\"row_styles_width\":\"\",\"row_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"row_styles_margin\":\"\",\"row_styles_padding\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_border\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_height\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_width\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_margin\":\"\",\"row-odd_styles_padding\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_border\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_height\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_width\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_margin\":\"\",\"success-msg_styles_padding\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_border\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_width\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_margin\":\"\",\"error_msg_styles_padding\":\"\",\"drawerDisabled\":false,\"export_settings\":[],\"form_title_heading_level\":\"3\",\"ninjaForms\":\"Ninja Forms\",\"fieldTextareaRTEInsertLink\":\"Insert Link\",\"fieldTextareaRTEInsertMedia\":\"Insert Media\",\"fieldTextareaRTESelectAFile\":\"Select a file\",\"formHoneypot\":\"If you are a human seeing this field, please leave it empty.\",\"fileUploadOldCodeFileUploadInProgress\":\"File Upload in Progress.\",\"fileUploadOldCodeFileUpload\":\"FILE UPLOAD\",\"currencySymbol\":\"&#36;\",\"thousands_sep\":\",\",\"decimal_point\":\".\",\"siteLocale\":\"en_US\",\"dateFormat\":\"m\/d\/Y\",\"startOfWeek\":\"1\",\"of\":\"of\",\"previousMonth\":\"Previous Month\",\"nextMonth\":\"Next Month\",\"months\":[\"January\",\"February\",\"March\",\"April\",\"May\",\"June\",\"July\",\"August\",\"September\",\"October\",\"November\",\"December\"],\"monthsShort\":[\"Jan\",\"Feb\",\"Mar\",\"Apr\",\"May\",\"Jun\",\"Jul\",\"Aug\",\"Sep\",\"Oct\",\"Nov\",\"Dec\"],\"weekdays\":[\"Sunday\",\"Monday\",\"Tuesday\",\"Wednesday\",\"Thursday\",\"Friday\",\"Saturday\"],\"weekdaysShort\":[\"Sun\",\"Mon\",\"Tue\",\"Wed\",\"Thu\",\"Fri\",\"Sat\"],\"weekdaysMin\":[\"Su\",\"Mo\",\"Tu\",\"We\",\"Th\",\"Fr\",\"Sa\"],\"recaptchaConsentMissing\":\"reCaptcha validation couldn&#039;t load.\",\"recaptchaMissingCookie\":\"reCaptcha v3 validation couldn&#039;t load the cookie needed to submit the form.\",\"recaptchaConsentEvent\":\"Accept reCaptcha cookies before sending the form.\",\"currency_symbol\":\"\",\"beforeForm\":\"\",\"beforeFields\":\"\",\"afterFields\":\"\",\"afterForm\":\"\"};form.fields=[{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":1,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"label\":\"Email\",\"type\":\"email\",\"key\":\"master_signup_email\",\"label_pos\":\"hidden\",\"required\":1,\"default\":\"\",\"placeholder\":\"@Your email\",\"container_class\":\"master-email-wrap\",\"element_class\":\"\",\"admin_label\":\"master_signup_email\",\"help_text\":\"\",\"custom_name_attribute\":\"email\",\"personally_identifiable\":1,\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_margin\":0,\"wrap_styles_padding\":0,\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"label_styles_border\":\"\",\"label_styles_width\":\"\",\"label_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"label_styles_margin\":0,\"label_styles_padding\":0,\"label_styles_float\":\"\",\"label_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":\"\",\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":0,\"element_styles_padding\":0,\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"cellcid\":\"c4722\",\"value\":\"\",\"drawerDisabled\":false,\"wrap_styles_advanced\":\"margin:0;nborder-radius: 25px;n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;\",\"element_styles_background-color\":\"#ffffff\",\"element_styles_border-color\":\"#ffffff\",\"element_styles_advanced\":\"margin-bottom:0;nborder-radius: 25px;n-webkit-border-radius: 25px;\",\"manual_key\":true,\"id\":27,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"parentType\":\"email\",\"element_templates\":[\"email\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap\"},{\"objectType\":\"Field\",\"objectDomain\":\"fields\",\"editActive\":false,\"order\":2,\"idAttribute\":\"id\",\"label\":\"Subscribe Now\",\"type\":\"submit\",\"cellcid\":\"c4725\",\"processing_label\":\"Processing\",\"container_class\":\"\",\"element_class\":\"\",\"key\":\"subscribe_now_1660636976556\",\"wrap_styles_border\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_width\":120,\"wrap_styles_margin\":0,\"wrap_styles_padding\":0,\"wrap_styles_float\":\"\",\"wrap_styles_show_advanced_css\":1,\"element_styles_border\":\"\",\"element_styles_width\":120,\"element_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"element_styles_margin\":0,\"element_styles_padding\":0,\"element_styles_float\":\"\",\"element_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"submit_element_hover_styles_border\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_width\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_font-size\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_margin\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_padding\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_float\":\"\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_show_advanced_css\":0,\"wrap_styles_advanced\":\"\",\"element_styles_background-color\":\"#00ab84\",\"submit_element_hover_styles_background-color\":\"#00ab84\",\"drawerDisabled\":false,\"id\":28,\"beforeField\":\"\",\"afterField\":\"\",\"value\":\"\",\"label_pos\":\"above\",\"parentType\":\"textbox\",\"element_templates\":[\"submit\",\"button\",\"input\"],\"old_classname\":\"\",\"wrap_template\":\"wrap-no-label\"}];nfForms.push(form);<\/script><br \/>\n                <script id=\"nf-tmpl-cell\" type=\"text\/template\">\n            <nf-fields><\/nf-fields>\n        <\/script><\/p>\n<p>        <script id=\"nf-tmpl-row\" type=\"text\/template\">\n            <nf-cells><\/nf-cells>\n        <\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It isn\u2019t only physical stuff that we cling to. We hold on to things emotionally, spiritually and mentally.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/prayer\/bible-resources\/women-in-the-bible\/10-remarkable-women-of-the-bible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>Read More: 10 Remarkable Women of the Bible<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Our hearts are heavy because we are unable to forgive someone who has hurt us. Jealously and resentment keep us from loving others. Our heart aches for the love that we lost or never had. And the past may keep us from enjoying the present.<\/p>\n<p>In order to grow, we must be willing to give up the things that hold us back. Jesus said, \u201cIf\u00a0you\u00a0try to hang on to\u00a0your life,\u00a0you\u00a0will lose it. But\u00a0if you give up your life for my sake,\u00a0you\u00a0will save it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Giving up and letting go opens the way for us to truly be free and happy. What are you willing to give up in order to grow in faith and life?<\/p>\n<p><em>Lord, help us to not be bound by anything but Your love.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It has been said that those who are willing to give up the most, gain the most. While most of us believe this to be true, we are hesitant to apply it to our lives. People like to hold onto things. Unfortunately, most of what we hold onto is materialistic. I remember when my brother-in-law [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":29596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[14],"ppma_author":[486],"class_list":["post-21898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-emotional-and-mental-health","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Be Truly Free and Happy - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Be Truly Free and Happy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It has been said that those who are willing to give up the most, gain the most. While most of us believe this to be true, we are hesitant to apply it to our lives. People like to hold onto things. Unfortunately, most of what we hold onto is materialistic. I remember when my brother-in-law [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Guideposts Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-11T11:59:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T06:13:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/articles.guideposts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/happy-1-1024x576.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pablo Diaz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pablo Diaz\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0851991319b33503bf9931853a485ec1\"},\"headline\":\"How to Be Truly Free and Happy\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T11:59:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T06:13:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":290,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/happy-1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Spiritual Growth\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Emotional and Mental Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Be Truly Free and Happy - Guideposts Articles\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/happy-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T11:59:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T06:13:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/happy-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/happy-1.png\",\"width\":1540,\"height\":866},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Positive Living\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Health and Wellness\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Better Living\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Emotional and Mental Health\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/health-and-wellness\\\/better-living\\\/emotional-and-mental-health\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":6,\"name\":\"How to Be Truly Free and Happy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"description\":\"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"caption\":\"Guideposts Articles\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0851991319b33503bf9931853a485ec1\",\"name\":\"Pablo Diaz\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ff2c792712a3a173d40ea91c7ee28a3b2791f015b8f40e8cb070b7df8216d701?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g622afb0e1c623c24ed5c727528055812\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ff2c792712a3a173d40ea91c7ee28a3b2791f015b8f40e8cb070b7df8216d701?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ff2c792712a3a173d40ea91c7ee28a3b2791f015b8f40e8cb070b7df8216d701?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Pablo Diaz\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/pablo\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Be Truly Free and Happy - Guideposts Articles","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Be Truly Free and Happy","og_description":"It has been said that those who are willing to give up the most, gain the most. While most of us believe this to be true, we are hesitant to apply it to our lives. People like to hold onto things. Unfortunately, most of what we hold onto is materialistic. I remember when my brother-in-law [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/","og_site_name":"Guideposts Articles","article_published_time":"2026-03-11T11:59:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-10T06:13:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/articles.guideposts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/happy-1-1024x576.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Pablo Diaz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/"},"author":{"name":"Pablo Diaz","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/0851991319b33503bf9931853a485ec1"},"headline":"How to Be Truly Free and Happy","datePublished":"2026-03-11T11:59:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T06:13:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/"},"wordCount":290,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/happy-1.png","keywords":["Spiritual Growth"],"articleSection":["Emotional and Mental Health"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/","name":"How to Be Truly Free and Happy - Guideposts Articles","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/happy-1.png","datePublished":"2026-03-11T11:59:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T06:13:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/happy-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/happy-1.png","width":1540,"height":866},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/how-to-be-truly-free-and-happy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Positive Living","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Health and Wellness","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Better Living","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Emotional and Mental Health","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":6,"name":"How to Be Truly Free and Happy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","name":"Guideposts Articles","description":"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization","name":"Guideposts Articles","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","caption":"Guideposts Articles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/0851991319b33503bf9931853a485ec1","name":"Pablo Diaz","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff2c792712a3a173d40ea91c7ee28a3b2791f015b8f40e8cb070b7df8216d701?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g622afb0e1c623c24ed5c727528055812","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff2c792712a3a173d40ea91c7ee28a3b2791f015b8f40e8cb070b7df8216d701?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff2c792712a3a173d40ea91c7ee28a3b2791f015b8f40e8cb070b7df8216d701?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","caption":"Pablo Diaz"},"url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/author\/pablo\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":486,"user_id":120,"is_guest":0,"slug":"pablo","display_name":"Pablo Diaz","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21898"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=21898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}