For me it is all about self empowerment. Many on this thread have said that freedom is most important, but I think of freedom as a component of empowerment. Being FI allows you to empower yourself (because no one else will) and when you are empowered, you become proactive rather than reactive to the events that happen in your life. You are not just free to pursue the results that you want, you are in the driver's seat to open up many more alternatives, opportunities or solutions that someone who is not financially independent can never access, because they have given away their power. Empowerment brings confidence, allows creativity, decreases the stress that clouds your perspective, and enables you to see things through an entirely different lens. People, things and circumstances loose their control over you. Does that mean life is a bed of roses? No way. Job loss, death, divorce, illness are still part of life. How your faced life's challenges changes.
When you are empowered thru FI, you can make bolder choices, walk away from situations that suck joy from your life, and give grace and compassion to those you want to help. And the list goes on and on.