I’ve always thought of word agency in the business sense—like a marketing agency that provides services or a legal agency where one party acts on behalf of another.

But I’d never considered it in the context of personal agency. In fact, this term doesn’t even have a direct translation in my native language.

Personal agency — is the ability to make decisions and take actions that shape your life. It’s about control, autonomy, and responsibility for your choices.

Now that I see how much meaning is packed into this concept, I’ll be using it more often.