Philosophy of life

Paralysis of Freedom

Reza Sanjideh

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 We all face moments where two paths stand in front of us — and we hesitate. In this episode, Reza explores the deeper meaning of doubt, or Zweifel, and why waiting can cost more than making the wrong decision. Through philosophy, personal reflection, and practical insight, this episode challenges the paralysis of perfection and reminds us that the greatest regret is not what we did — but what we could have done and didn’t. 

Because the moment you don’t choose… may never return. 

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SPEAKER_00:

What is doubt? Doubt is uncertainty about something. You doubt a person, you doubt an idea, you doubt whether something is true or false, it is mental hesitation. But zweifle, the German word, carries something deeper. The word itself comes from zwei meaning to. Swifle is not just uncertainty, it is being split between two possibilities. It is standing between two parts. It is not just I'm not sure. It is I see two realities and I can't move. That's why twifle feels heavier than doubt. Life constantly forces us into these moments do it or not do it. Stay or leave, speak or remain silent, risk or protect. It is always action versus inaction. And here is the dangerous part. When you don't act, the desire to act slowly disappears. You don't notice it. At first both paths are alive, both are existing, both are possible, then you wait, and something different happens. Energy fades, momentum fades, courage fades. The decision does not become easier. It becomes irrelevant. Life is like chess. You don't have infinite time. In professional chess, you may have twenty five minutes, sometimes less, sometimes more. But the clock is running. Even if I don't move, the time is still moving. Unfortunately that's the brutal truth. You think if I wait, keep both options. No, you don't keep both options. You lose time. And time changes everything. Your emotion, your perspective, your opportunity. Many people believe if I don't decide now I still have the other path available. But you don't. Because when you return to the path later, it is no longer the same path. Circumstances have changed, people have changed, you have changed. The emotional intensity that once pushed you forward is gone. And now you say maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow becomes next week, next week becomes never. This is close to what the Greek calls operia, a state of impasses. Freedom is not comfortable. Freedom means you must choose. And when you choose, you kill the other possibility. That is painful. But not choosing slowly kills both. You are taking a strong position here. You are asking the best path is the one you take. Not because it is perfect, but because it becomes real. The other path is imagination. The path you choose becomes experience, growth, story, identity. The path you avoid becomes fantasy, and fantasy does not build character. When I look back at my life, living Iran, living in Germany, moving to America, starting my company, every major ship required fast decision. There was no perfect clarity. There was no guarantee, but there was timing, and timing does not wait. The enemy does not wait. The market does not wait. Circumstances do not wait. If you wait too long, the moment is gone. Survival is natural, but paralyzed is optional. Doubt is human. But indecision is dangerous because a wrong decision teaches you. No decision it weakens you. And the more you delay decisions, the less confident you become in making them. Self-trust arose. That is real danger. It always goes back to the same place. We want the best outcome. We want to avoid mistakes. We want a perfect move. And that desire sounds intelligent, but it is dangerous. We tell ourselves if I wait a little longer I will see more clearly. Or if I analyze more I will make fewer mistakes. If I delay, I will protect myself. But life was never about perfection. It was never about zero mistakes. Mystics are not the enemy. Mystics are the teacher. Mystics are the way you return to a root and discover who you are. You don't find yourself in safety. You find yourself in fraction. You find yourself in wrong turns. You find yourself in failure. You have to invite mistakes. You have to send them an invitation because without them you don't grow. Waiting gives the illusion of control. If I don't move, I can't fail. If I don't choose, I can't regret. But that's not true because not choosing is also a choice, and it has consequences. While you wait, time moves, opportunities shift, your energy changes, and slowly your desire fades. That is the silent danger. This is what philosopher like Soran Kricord called the anxiety of freedom. Freedom is terrifying because freedom means responsibility, and responsibility means if I fail it is on me. So we hesitate, we wait, we delay, we hope clarity will remove responsibility, but clarity rarely comes before action. Clarity comes after action. Here is something deeper. This is my philosophy. I believe we all come to this world with something to finish, something to build, something to experience, something to attempt. If you don't finish what you feel called to do, that feeling does not disappear. It stays. It becomes a quiet voice. I didn't do what I needed to do, and then you age. The things that once were easy become hard. The energy that once was abandoned becomes limited. The parameters change. What once required courage now requires strength. You may not have it. And that regret becomes heavier than any mistake you could have made. You think you are protecting yourself. But ask yourself, what do you actually lose? You lose momentum, you lose courage, you lose self trust. And sometimes you lose the path entirely. And here is the brutal truth. What you are afraid to losing you may have already lost, because the moment was here, and now it is not the same moment anymore. That is profound. Anxiety of choice is natural. Freedom is terrifying. That's part of being human. But stopping completely that's not necessary. You must continue, not recklessly, not blindly, but decisively. Choose a path, commit, walk, correct along the way. Life is not about finding the perfect road. It is about walking one with strength. So go back, think one more time. What stopped you? Was it logic? Or was it fear wearing the mask of logic? Was it wisdom or was it perfectionism hidden insecurity? And now ask yourself the real question. If I don't take this step, what am I slowly losing? Because the cost of waiting is often greater than the cost of being wrong. Let's be clear. You don't eliminate doubt. You outgrow it. Twifle will always appear when something matters. If there is no doubt, the decision is small. If there is doubt, it means it's important. So the goal is not to remove hesitation. The goal is to move through it. Here is how. Stop waiting for 100% certainty. It never comes. When you have 70% clarity, move. The remaining 30% will only become visible after action. In business, in life, in immigration, in love, you never get full data. You get enough. And enough is enough. If you wait for total certainty, you will wait forever. Survival grows in open time. It shrinks in limited time. Give yourself a decision clock, like chess. I will decide in forty eight hours. Or I will decide by Friday. No extensions. No emotional renegotiation. Because when you allow endless time, doubt expands. When you compress time, clarity sharpens. Pressure reveals truth. Instead of asking what if I fail? Ask what happens if I never try. Failure is temporary, but regret is permanent. You can recover from wrong moves. It is very hard to recover from never moving. Here is a powerful filter. Which path makes you uncomfortable but stronger? Which path protects you but shrinks you? Survival often hides behind comfort. Growth feels unstable. Comfort feels safe, but safety can slowly become stagnation. And stagnation is quiet decay. Every decision kills another possibility. That's painful, but that's reality. When you choose one road, you bury the other. That's not tragedy. That's structure. Life is built on sacrifice. You cannot have both lives, and trying to keep both usually means living neither fully. Most people freeze on big decisions because they avoid small ones. Practice fast decisions on small things, like what to read or what to prioritize, what meaning matters, or what to ignore. Decisiveness is a muscle. If you train it daily, it shows up when it matters. This is critical. You are not choosing a present. You are choosing a direction. Direction can be corrected. In case you make a move, then you adopt. Life is dynamic, but you must move first. Stillness gives you no new information. Movement gives you feedback. Feedback creates intelligence. Here is the mindset shift that defeats survival. Stop asking, is this the perfect path? But start asking, is this a path I'm willing to own? Ownership eliminates paralysis because once you own the choice, you stop blaming uncertainty. You become responsible, and responsibility creates poverty. Svaifel is not your enemy. Comfort is perfectionism is fear disguised as logic is. You defeat the opt by moving, not recklessly, not emotionally, but decisively. You choose, you commit, you walk, you adjust, you grow. Because life does not reward those who analyze forever. It rewards those who step forward. The biggest regret I have in life is not what I did. It is what I could have done but didn't. There were moments, moments where everything was aligned. Moments where I knew if I just took one step, something in my life would change. But I hesitated, I analyzed, I waited, and the moment passed. You never get that moment back. You never get to see who you could have become if you had moved. The door closed silently. And one day you look back and say, I had it. It was there, and I missed it. And here is the brutal truth. All the money in the world can't buy back a missed moment. You can't purchase yesterday. You can't negotiate with time. You can't return to that intersection with the same energy, the same possibility, the same version of yourself. It's gone forever. That is why I am telling you, not gently, but seriously. Pick your path. Don't live in doubt. Don't stay between the two roads hoping clarity will save you. Between the two paths, one becomes yours the moment you walk it. It's not perfect, it's not guaranteed, but it is a life. Because you chose it, because you owned it. And once you take it, that is your path. One hundred percent. No comparison, no regret, just movement. And movement creates life. This was the paralyze of freedom. My name is Heidegger Semi for Reza Sanji De. This is Philosophy of Life Podcast. If this episode meant something to you, let me know what you think. Because together we have to make sense of it. Until next time,

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