From a distance it is something; and nearby it is nothing.
—Jean de La Fontaine (1621–95) French Poet, Short Story Writer
Cowardice, as distinguished from panic, is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination.
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American Author, Journalist, Short Story Writer
Often I have found that the one thing that can save is the thing which appears most to threaten … one has to go down into what one most fears and in that process … comes a saving flicker of light and energy that, even if it does not produce the courage of a hero, at any rate enables a trembling mortal to take one step further.
—Laurens van der Post (1906–96) South African-born British Political leader, Author, Educator, Journalist, Humanitarian
There is great beauty in going through life without anxiety or fear. Half our fears are baseless, and the other half discreditable.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
General Grant had a simple, childlike recipe for meeting life … “I am terribly afraid, but the other fellow is afraid, too”.
—Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
You can drop an awful lot of excess baggage if you learn to play with life instead of fight it.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Why be miserable when you can be happy?
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something…almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.
—Steve Jobs (1955–2011) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
Is there any sex-distinction in the Atman (Self)? Out with the differentiation between man and woman—all is Atman! Give up the identification with the body, and stand up!
—Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) Indian Hindu Monk, Mystic
Taking responsibility means not blaming yourself… Anything that takes away your power or your pleasure makes you a victim. Don’t make yourself a victim of yourself!
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Where fear is, happiness is not.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
To tremble before anticipated evils, is to bemoan what thou hast never lost.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Fear is an uneasiness of the mind, upon the thought of a future evil likely to befall us.
—John Locke (1632–1704) English Philosopher, Physician
We are more disturbed by a calamity which threatens us than by one which has befallen us.
—John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) American Catholic Clergyman, Educator, Essayist, Biographer
Moderation? It’s mediocrity, fear, and confusion in disguise. It’s the devil’s dilemma. It’s neither doing nor not doing. It’s the wobbling compromise that makes no one happy. Moderation is for the bland, the apologetic, for the fence-sitters of the world afraid to take a stand. It’s for those afraid to laugh or cry, for those afraid to live or die. Moderation…is lukewarm tea, the devil’s own brew.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
It is not work that kills men; it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more on a man than he can bear. But worry is rust upon the blade. It is movement that destroys the machinery, but friction.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
There is no terror in a bang, only in the anticipation of it.
—Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) British-born American Film Director, Film Producer
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward, it is not a compliment to say it is brave; it is merely a loose misapplication of the word. Consider the flea!-incomparably the bravest of all the creatures of God, if ignorance of fear were courage. Whether you are asleep or awake he will attack you, caring nothing for the fact that in bulk and strength you are to him as are the massed armies of the earth to a sucking child; he lives both day and night and all days and nights in the very lap of peril and the immediate presence of death, and yet is no more afraid than is the man who walks the streets of a city that was threatened by an earthquake ten centuries before. When we speak of Clive, Nelson, and Putnam as men who didn’t know what fear was,” we ought always to add the flea-and put him at the head of the procession.”
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
Every man, through fear, mugs his aspirations a dozen times a day.
—Brendan Behan (1923–64) Irish Poet, Novelist, Playwright
I said to myself: “You mean all those people out there that I’ve been envying because they’re not afraid to move ahead with their lives have really been afraid? Why didn’t somebody tell me!?” I guess I never asked.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
No one loves the man whom he fears.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
FEAR is an acronym in the English language for “False Evidence Appearing Real”
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
Envy and fear are the only passions to which no pleasure is attached.
—John Churton Collins (1848–1908) English Literary Critic
If you’ve truly committed yourself to something, given it all you’ve got, and then concluded that it is not for you—move on to something else.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.
—Katherine Paterson (b.1932) American Novelist, Writer
Any device whatever by which one frees himself from fear is a natural good.
—Epicurus (c.341–270 BCE) Greek Philosopher
Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look at fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along”. You must do the think you think you cannot do.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
The man who cannot laugh is not only fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils, but his whole life is already a treason and a stratagem.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
True success is overcoming the fear of being unsuccessful.
—Paul Sweeney
There is nothing that fear and hope does not permit men to do.
—Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–47) French Moralist, Essayist, Writer
To have courage, one must first be afraid. The deeper the fear, the more difficult the climb toward courage.
—Jim Bishop (1907–87) American Journalist, Author
Above all things, never be afraid. The enemy who forces you to retreat is himself afraid of you at that very moment.
—Andre Maurois (1885–1967) French Novelist, Biographer
The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
Taking responsibility means being aware of where and when you are NOT taking responsibility so that you can eventually change.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
The world is burdened with young fogies. Old men with ossified minds are easily dealt with. But men who look young, act young and everlastingly harp on the fact that they are young, but who nevertheless think and act with a degree of caution that would be excessive in their grandfathers, are the curse of the world. Their very conservatism is secondhand, and they don’t know what they are conserving.
—Robertson Davies (1913–95) Canadian Novelist, Playwright, Essayist
Imagination
Imagination—sparks dreams and laughter,
Dissolves barriers, expands knowledge and lights the mind.
Imagination also holds captive in dark places
Both the weak and strong, liquefies courage,
Builds enormous insurmountable fear.
—Unknown
In a sense, your need to please shows you what you have to work on—and that is: letting go emotionally of the role of child and stepping into the role of adult.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
—Marie Curie (1867–1934) Polish-born French Physicist, Chemist
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
Fear to let fall a drop and you spill a lot.
—Malaysian Proverb
No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
What we resist persists.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Someday, in the moment of death, your whole life will pass before you. In a few fractions of a second–because time no longer applies–you will see many incidents from your life in order to learn. You will review your life with two questions in your consciousness: Could I have shown a little more courage in these moments? Could I have shown a little more love? You will see where you let fear stop you from expressing who you are, how you feel, or what you need. You will see whether you were able to expand into these moments, just a little, to show love, or whether you contracted.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
He knew no fear except the fear of doing wrong.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
The point to remember is that when you blame any outside force for any of your experience of life, you are literally giving away all your power and thus creating pain, paralysis and depression.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
For some reason, when you become a support to others, you become bigger than you are.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Every time I start a picture … I feel the same fear, the same self-doubts … and I have only one source on which I can draw, because it comes from within me.
—Federico Fellini (1920–93) Italian Filmmaker
It seems that the necessary thing to do is not to fear mistakes, to plunge in, to do the best that one can, hoping to learn enough from blunders to correct them eventually.
—Abraham Maslow (1908–70) American Psychologist, Academic, Humanist
You can take from every experience what it has to offer you. And you cannot be defeated if you just keep taking one breath followed by another.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
How often the fear of one evil leads into a worse.
—Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux (1636–1711) French Poet, Satirist, Literary Critic
You cannot run away from a weakness. You must sometimes fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is th beginning of wisdom.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
Whenever we’re afraid, it’s because we don’t know enough. If we understood enough, we would never be afraid.
—Earl Nightingale (1921–89) American Motivational Speaker, Author
Fear is the start of wisdom.
—Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) Spanish Educator, Philosopher, Author
Humor acts to relieve fear.
—William F. Fry, Jr.
Grief has limits, whereas apprehension has none. For we grieve only for what we know has happened, but we fear all that possibly may happen.
—Pliny the Younger (c.61–c.112 CE) Roman Senator, Writer
To relinquish a present good through apprehension of a future evil is in most instances unwise … from a fear which may afterwards turn out groundless, you lost the good that lay within your grasp.
—Francesco Guicciardini (1483–1540) Italian Historian, Political leader
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.
—Ambrose Hollingworth Redmoon (James Neil Hollingworth)
Now I know that when I am angry at my husband, I simply have to ask myself, “What am I not doing in my life that I could be doing that I am blaming him for not doing for me?”
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Stripped of all their masquerades, the fears of men are quite identical: the fear of loneliness, rejection, inferiority, unmanageable anger, illness and death.
—Joshua L. Liebman (1907–48) American Jewish Rabbi, Author
The truth is that love and power go together.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
The truth is that there is no terror untempered by some great moral idea.
—Jean-luc Godard (b.1930) French-born Swiss Film Director, Film Critic
I can say, I am terribly frightened and fear is terrible and awful and it makes me uncomfortable, so I won’t do that because it makes me uncomfortable. Or I could say get used to being uncomfortable. It is uncomfortable doing something that’s risky. But so what? Do you want to stagnate and just be comfortable?
—Barbra Streisand (b.1942) American Musician, Actor, Songwriter
Most of us do not “sculpt” our lives. We accept what comes our way…then we gripe about it.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
As the ostrich when pursued hideth his head, but forgetteth his body; so the fears of a coward expose him to danger.
—Akhenaten (1378BCE–1348BCE) Egyptian Monarch, Religious Leader
Do what you fear most and you control fear.
—George Bancroft (1800–91) American Historian, Statesman
Determine what you want on your life and act on it.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Joking about death — or anything else that oppresses us — makes it less frightening.
—Allen Klein (1931–2009) American Businessperson
Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.
—Karl Menninger (1893–1990) American Psychiatrist
The first duty of man is to conquer fear; he must get rid of it, he cannot act till then.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
The kind of power I’m talking about leaves you free, since you don’t expect the rest of the world to fill you up. It’s not the ability to get someone else to do what you want them to do. It’s the ability to get yourself to do what you want to do.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experience behind him.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
Look not mournfully into the Past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the Present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy Future, without fear, and with a manly heart.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.
—Lady Bird Johnson (1912–2007) First Lady of the United States, Conservationist
Those who love to be feared fear to be loved, and they themselves are more afraid than anyone, for whereas other men fear only them, they fear everyone.
—Francis de Sales (1567–1622) French Catholic Saint
Let nothing be done in your life, which will cause you fear if it becomes known to your neighbor.
—Epicurus (c.341–270 BCE) Greek Philosopher
The craven’s fear is but selfishness, like his merriment.
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–92) American Quaker Poet, Abolitionist
Start thinking about yourself as a lifetime student at a large university. Your curriculum is your total relationship with the world you live in, from the moment you’re born to the moment you die.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
You are only afraid if you are not in harmony with yourself. People are afraid because they have never owned up to themselves.
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) German-born Swiss Novelist, Poet
We are terrified by the idea of being terrified.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
A fool without fear is sometimes wiser than an angel with fear.
—Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor (1879–1964) American-born British Politician
“Come to the edge,” he said. They said, “We are afraid.” “Come to the edge,” he said. They came. He pushed them … and they flew!.
—Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918) Italian-born French Poet, Playwright
First you jump off the cliff and you build wings on the way down.
—Ray Bradbury (b.1920) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
Women have been conditioned to believe that to be powerful is unfeminine and unattractive. It is my experience that nothing could be further from the truth.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.
—Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) Polish Catholic Religious Leader
Get rid of your fear of failure, your tensions about succeeding, you will be yourself. Relaxed. You wouldn’t be driving with your brakes on. That’s what would happen.
—Anthony de Mello (1931–87) Indian-born American Theologian
Every time you win, it diminishes the fear a little bit. You never really cancel the fear of losing; you keep challenging it.
—Arthur Ashe (1943–93) American Tennis Player
We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.
—William Allen White (1868–1944) American Editor, Politician, Author
Fear is the sand in the machinery of life.
—E. Stanley Jones (1884–1973) American Methodist Priest, Theologian
Death is not the enemy; living in constant fear of it is.
—Norman Cousins (1915–90) American Journalist, Author, Academic, Activist
There are moments when everything goes well, but don’t be frightened.
—Jules Renard (1864–1910) French Writer, Diarist
Fear of becoming a ‘has-been’ keeps some people from becoming anything.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
The most important thing is for you to be your own best friend. Whatever you are doing—don’t put yourself down. Slowly begin to discover which, for you, is the path of the heart. Which path in life will make you grow? That is the path to take.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Don’t let your throat tighten with fear. Take sips of breath all day and night, before death closes your mouth.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
Constant exposure to dangers will breed contempt for them.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.
—Rosa Parks (1913–2005) American Civil Rights Leader
Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them… they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
It is only the fear of God that can deliver us from the fear of man.
—John Witherspoon (1723-94) Scottish-American Presbyterian Theologian
The unknown is what it is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars peace, love, hate, all that. Unknown is what it is. Accept that it’s unknown, and it’s plain sailing.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
Fear is a question: What are you afraid of, and why?. Just as the seed of health is in illness, because illness contains information, our fears are a treasure house of self-knowledge if we explore them.
—Marilyn Ferguson (1938–2008) American Author, Editor, Orator
Things done well and with care, exempt themselves from fear.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Perfect love casts out fear. Where there is love there are no demands, no expectations, no dependency. I do not demand that you make me happy; my happiness does not lie in you. If you were to leave me, I will not feel sorry for myself; I enjoy your company immensely, but I do not cling.
—Anthony de Mello (1931–87) Indian-born American Theologian
I’ve developed a new philosophy … I only dread one day at a time.
—Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000) American Cartoonist, Writer, Artist
Do what you fear and fear disappears.
—David J. Schwartz (1927–87) American Self-help Author
Fear is a disease that eats away at logic and makes man inhuman.
—Marian Anderson (1897–1993) American Singer
A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice.
—E. W. Howe (1853–1937) American Novelist, Editor
When you see yourself connected to something bigger than yourself, you no longer feel you must do it all alone. Your sense of power becomes highly magnified, and your fears are greatly diminished.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
Doubts and jealousies often beget the facts they fear.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
Listen to what you know instead of what you fear.
—Richard Bach (b.1936) American Novelist, Aviator
Religion is doing; a man does not merely think his religion or feel it, he “lives” his religion as much as he is able, otherwise it is not religion but fantasy or philosophy.
—Georges Gurdjieff (1877–1949) Armenian Spiritual Leader, Occultist
Fear is sharp-sighted, and can see things under ground, and much more in the skies.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
The worst of all fears is the fear of living.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
It is an old psychological axiom that constant exposure to the object of fear immunizes against the fear.
—Maxwell Maltz (1899–1975) American Surgeon, Motivational Writer
Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person.
—David M. Burns
A teacher of fear can’t bring peace on earth. We have been trying to do it that way for thousands of years. The person who turns inner violence around, the person who finds peace inside and lives it, is the one who teaches what true peace is. We are waiting for just one teacher. You’re the one.
—Byron Katie (b.1942) American Speaker, Author
The habit of doing one’s duty drives away fear.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
Fear is only an illusion. It is the illusion that creates the feeling of separateness — the false sense of isolation that exists only in your imagination.
—Jeraldine Saunders (1923–2019) American Writer, Television Personality
Shoulds bring on guilt and upset—totally draining emotions. Your power is taken every time you utter the words “I should”.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it.
—Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) Indian Philosopher
Just as courage imperils life; fear protects it.
—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Polymath, Painter, Sculptor, Inventor, Architect
There is often less danger in the things we fear than in the things we desire.
—John Churton Collins (1848–1908) English Literary Critic
When we let someone be who they are without trying to change them, that is giving away love. When we trust that someone can handle his or her own life, and act accordingly, that is giving away love.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Frozen in fear, you avoid responsibility because you think your experience is beyond your control. This stance keeps you from making decisions, solving problems, or going after what you want in life.
—David Emerald
It is better by a noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half of the evils we anticipate, than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what may happen.
—Herodotus (c.485–425 BCE) Ancient Greek Historian
You always have two choices: your commitment versus your fear.
—Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925–90) American Singer, Musician, Dancer, Actor
As each layer of shadow is mined from the darkness, as each fear is faced and each projection reclaimed, the gold shines through.
—Connie Zweig (b.1949) American Minister, Columnist, Psychotherapist
Fear makes us feel our humanity.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
The biggest pitfall as you make your way through your life is impatience.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.
—Billie Jean King (b.1943) American Tennis Player
There is perhaps nothing so bad and so dangerous in life as fear.
—Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) Indian Head of State
Live. If you live, God will live with you. If you refuse to run his risks, he’ll retreat to that distant heaven and be merely a subject for philosophical speculation. Everyone knows this, but no one takes the first step, perhaps for fear of being called insane.
—Paulo Coelho (b.1947) Brazilian Songwriter, Novelist
When a man has fulfilled all four of these requisites—to be wide awake, to have fear, respect, and absolute assurance—there are no mistakes for which he will have to account; under such conditions his actions lose the blundering quality of the acts of a fool. If such a man fails, or suffers a defeat, he will have lost only a battle, and there will be no pitiful regrets over that.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
The original of all great and lasting societies consisted not in the mutual good will men had toward each other, but in the mutual fear they had of each other.
—Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) English Political Philosopher
And only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live in every experience, painful or joyous; to live in gratitude for every moment, to live abundantly.
—Dorothy Thompson (1893–1961) American Journalist, Radio Personality
The more comfort becomes your priority, the more contracted you become with fear.
—T. Harv Eker (b.1954) American Motivational Speaker, Lecturer, Author
Fear is an emotion indispensable for survival.
—Hannah Arendt (1906–75) German-American Philosopher, Political Theorist
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
—H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) American Science-fiction Writer
Considering how dangerous everything is, nothing is really very frightening.
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American Writer
While we wait in silence for that final luxury of fearlessness, the weight of that silence will choke us.
—Audre Lorde (1934–92) American Poet, Activist
The man who has ceased to fear has ceased to care.
—F. H. Bradley (1846–1924 ) British Idealist Philosopher
I, a stranger and afraid, in a world I never made.
—A. E. Housman (1859–1936) English Poet, Classical Scholar
Named must your fear be before banish it you can.
—Yoda Character In ‘Star Wars’
There is nothing of which every man is so afraid, as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming.
—Soren Kierkegaard (1813–55) Danish Philosopher, Theologian
Bad behavior and irrational decisions are almost always caused by fear. If you want to change the behavior, address the fear.
—Seth Godin (b.1960) American Entrepreneur
The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by each experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
There is no hope unmingled with fear, and no fear unmingled with hope.
—Baruch Spinoza (1632–77) Dutch Philosopher, Theologian
An appeal to fear never finds an echo in German hearts.
—Otto von Bismarck (1815–98) German Chancellor, Prime Minister
I believe that one of life’s greatest risks is never daring to risk.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
When we give from a place of love, rather than from a place of expectation, more usually comes back to us than we could have ever imagined.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
The worst sorrows in life are not in its losses and misfortunes, but its fears.
—A. C. Benson (1862–1925) English Essayist, Poet, Author
An anthill increases by accumulation. Medicine is consumed by distribution. That which is feared lessens by association. This is the thing to understand.
—Nagarjuna (150–250) Indian Buddhist Monk-Philosopher
How very little can be done under the spirit of fear.
—Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) English Nurse
The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.
—Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) New Zealand-born British Author
A fellow can’t keep people from having a bad opinion of him, but he can keep them from being right about it.
—Unknown
Horror is always aware of its cause; terror never is. That is precisely what makes terror terrifying.
—Christopher Isherwood (1904–86) Anglo-American Novelist, Playwright
Fear may come true that which one is afraid of.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
A perfect faith would lift us absolutely above fear.
—George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish Novelist, Lecturer, Poet
Fear of life in one form or another is the great thing to exorcise.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
Fear is the cheapest room in the house.I would like to see you living in better conditions.
—Hafez (1325–89) Persian Poet, Mystic
When thinking won’t cure fear, action will.
—W. Clement Stone (1902–2002) American Self-help Guru, Entrepreneur
Fear is the absence of faith.
—Paul Tillich (1886–1965) American Lutheran Theologian, Philosopher
The knowledge that you can handle anything that comes your way is the key to allowing yourself to take healthy, life-affirming risks.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
Awareness is half the battle.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
There was never any fear for me, no fear of failure. If I miss a shot, so what?
—Michael Jordan (b.1963) American Sportsperson, Businessperson
He has not learned the first lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt or fear.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
The superpowers often behave like two heavily armed blind men feeling their way around a room, each believing himself in mortal peril from the other, whom he assumes to have perfect vision.
—Henry Kissinger (b.1923) American Diplomat, Academician
Take a risk a day—one small or bold stroke that will make you feel great once you’ve done it. Even if it doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to, at least you’ve tried. You didn’t sit back…powerless. Watch what starts to happen when you expand your comfort zone…with each risk you take, each time you move out of what feels comfortable, you become more powerful… As your power builds, so does your confidence, so that stretching your comfort zone becomes easier and easier, despite any fear you may experiencing. The magnitude of the risks you take also expands.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
My “fear” is my substance, and probably the best part of me.
—Franz Kafka (1883–1924) Austrian Novelist, Short Story Writer
Courage is a special kind of knowledge: the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared.
—David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) Russian-born Israeli Head of State
Fear is the most damnable, damaging thing to human personality in the whole world.
—William Faulkner (1897–1962) American Novelist
See if you can go a week without criticizing anyone or complaining about anything.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.
—Shirley MacLaine (b.1934) American Actor, Dancer, Author, Activist
He who strikes terror in others is himself continually in fear.
—Claudian (c.370–c.404 CE) Roman Poet
We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes which were, for the moment, unpopular.
—Edward R. Murrow (1908–65) American Journalist, Radio Personality
Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
It is a miserable state of mind to have few things to desire and many things to fear.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
Fear is the proof of a degenerate mind.
—Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman Poet
Fear must be entirely banished. The purified soul will fear nothing.
—Plotinus (c.205–270 CE) Greek Philosopher, Founder of Neoplatonism
Kill the snake of doubt in your soul, crush the worms of fear in your heart and mountains will move out of your way.
—Kate Seredy
I don’t believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
A man goes to knowledge as he goes to war: wide-awake, with fear, with respect, and with absolute assurance. Going to knowledge or going to war in any other manner is a mistake, and whoever makes it might never live to regret it.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
He who foresees calamities suffers them twice over.
—Beilby Porteus (1731–1809) Anglican Bishop of London
Healthy children will not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death.
—Erik Erikson (1902–94) German-born American Developmental Psychologist
Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
—Unknown
At man’s core there is a voice that wants him never to give in to fear. But if it is true that in general man cannot give in to fear, at the very least he postpones indefinitely the moment when he will have to confront himself with the object of his fear… when he will no longer have the assistance of reason as guaranteed by God, or when he will no longer have the assistance of God such as reason guaranteed. It is necessary to recoil, but it is necessary to leap, and perhaps one only recoils in order to leap better.
—Georges Bataille (1897–1962) French Essayist, Intellectual
It is reported that more than 90% of what we worry about never happens. That means that our negative worries have less than a 10% chance of being correct. If this is so, isn’t being positive more realistic than being negative? Think about your own life. I’ll wager that most of what you worry about never happens. So are you being realistic when you worry all the time? No!
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
These then are my last words to you. Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
We must dare to think ‘unthinkable’ thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about ‘unthinkable things’ because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless.
—J. William Fulbright (1905–95) American Political leader, Politician
Begin to act from your dominion. Declare the truth by telling yourself that there is nothing to be afraid of, that you no longer entertain any images of fear.
—Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) American New Thought Writer, Teacher
Nothing is terrible except fear itself.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. It assures the progressive narrowing of the personality and prevents exploration and experimentation. There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure—all your life.
—John W. Gardner (1912–2002) American Government Official, Political leader
I have learned that there is always more to learn. And experience is our greatest teacher.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
The psychological condition of fear is divorced from any concrete and true immediate danger. It comes in many forms: unease, worry, anxiety, nervousness, tension, dread, phobia, and so on. This kind of psychological fear is always of something that might happen, not of something that is happening now.
—Eckhart Tolle (b.1948) German Spiritual Writer, Public Speaker, Spiritual Teacher
The wise man in the storm prays God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The horse does abominate the camel; the mighty elephant is afraid of a mouse; and they say that the lion, which scorneth to turn his back upon the stoutest animal, will tremble at the crowing of a cock.
—Increase Mather (1639–1723) American Puritan Clergyman
Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning.
—John Henry Newman (1801–90) British Theologian, Poet
All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.
—John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-Born American Economist
Fear grows in darkness; if you think there’s a bogeyman around, turn on the light.
—Dorothy Thompson (1893–1961) American Journalist, Radio Personality
I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.
—Audre Lorde (1934–92) American Poet, Activist