Skip to content

Freedom Quote by Paulo Coelho

“I heard other people speaking in the name of freedom, and the more they defended this unique right, the more enslaved they seemed to be to their parents' wishes, to a marriage in which they had promised to stay with the other person "for the rest of their lives", to the bathroom scales, to their…” quote by Paulo Coelho
Download Open image
““I heard other people speaking in the name of freedom, and the more they defended this unique right, the more enslaved they seemed to be to their parents' wishes, to a marriage in which they had promised to stay with the other person "for the rest of their lives", to the bathroom scales, to their diet, to half-finished projects, to lovers to whom they were incapable of saying "no" or "it's over", to weekends when they were obliged to have lunch with people they didn't even like. Slaves to luxury, to the appearance of luxury, to the appearance of the appearance of luxury. Slaves to a life they had not chosen, but which they had decided to live because someone had managed to convince them that it was all for the best. And so their identical days and nights passed, days and nights in which adventure was just a word in a book or an image o the television that was always on, and whenever a door opened, they would say “I’m not interested. I’m not in the mood.” How could they possibly know if they were in the mood or not if they had never tried? But there was no point in asking; the truth was they were afraid of any change that would upset the world they had grown used to.””

Paulo Coelho

About This Quote

Source Novel: Unknown, possibly a collection of essays, 2015

People claim to seek freedom yet become bound by expectations, routines, and material comforts, fearing change and missing authentic experiences.

In simple terms: Freedom is often an illusion constrained by habits and expectations.

Key Takeaway

Question and challenge your routines.

Themes

freedom conformity materialism fear

Mood

contemplative melancholy

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

  • career choices
  • dieting
  • relationships
  • social obligations
  • media consumption

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

  • What would you change if fear vanished?
  • Do you truly choose your life?
A Different Perspective

Change can be daunting and may disrupt stability.

2.2 out of 5 (5 ratings)

More by Paulo Coelho

Explore all 3,665 Paulo Coelho quotes

More Freedom quotes

Browse all 29,794 Freedom quotes