Courage is a commendable part of everyone’s life. Without it, everything we worked for, everything we dreamt, and everything we want can vanish. Ovid rightly said that “Courage conquers all things: it even gives strength to the body.’ It’s an unquestionable truth.
But, what’s astonishing is how quickly the feeling of fear outgrows the strength of courage we have been holding on to. To build the courage and to sustain the courage, we need to face fear. With that in thought, we shared some fear quotes that will make you courageous and help you face fear.
Fear Quotes to Crush Your Fears
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frighten us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune
“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
― John Lennon
“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentleman.”
― Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man's Fear
“Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up.”
― Veronica Roth, Divergent
“Fear cuts deeper than swords.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
“Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter, and the Sorcerer's Stone
“Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know that something is worth it.”
― C. JoyBell, C.
“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
― Plato
“Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.”
― Salvador Dali
“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”
― Jim Morrison
“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”
― Emma Donoghue, Room
“It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question, and he'll look for his own answers.”
― Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man's Fear
“Do not be afraid; our fate
Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.”
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
“Don't give in to your fears. If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
― Nelson Mandela
“Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire.”
― Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code
“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
“I have accepted fear as part of life – specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back....”
― Erica Jong
“I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unnerving ease. It begins in your mind, always ... so you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don't, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you.”
― Yann Martel, Life of Pi
“Fear is a phoenix. You can watch it burn a thousand times, and still, it will return.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom
“I wonder if fears ever really go away, or if they just lose their power over us.”
― Veronica Roth, Allegiant
“How much I missed, simply because I was afraid of missing it.”
― Paulo Coelho, Brida
“Without fear, there cannot be courage.”
― Christopher Paolini
“Laughter is poison to fear.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
“He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.”
― Aristotle
“To know a species, look at its fears. To know yourself, look at your fears. Fear in itself is not important, but fear stands there and points you in the direction of things that are important. Don't be afraid of your fears; they're not there to scare you; they're there to let you know that something is worth it.”
― C. JoyBell, C.
“Courage is feeling fear, not getting rid of fear, and taking action in the face of fear.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
“Always do what you're afraid to do.”
― E. Lockhart, We Were Liars
“Fear kills everything. "Your mind, your heart, your imagination.”
― Cornelia Funke, Inkheart
“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson
“There are two kinds of fears: rational and irrational- or in simpler terms, fears that make sense and fears that don't.”
― Lemony Snicket
“Find out what you're afraid of and go live there.”
― Chuck Palahniuk
“It's better to die laughing than to live each moment in fear.”
― Michael Crichton
“People tend to be generous when sharing their nonsense, fear, and ignorance. And while they seem quite eager to feed you their negativity, please remember that sometimes the diet we need to be on is a spiritual and emotional one. Be cautious with what you feed your mind and soul. Fuel yourself with positivity and let that fuel propel you into positive action.”
― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience
“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”
― Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays
“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”
― John Steinbeck
“There will always be someone willing to hurt you, put you down, gossip about you, belittle your accomplishments, and judge your soul. It is a fact that we all must face. However, if you realize that God is a best friend that stands beside you when others cast stones, you will never be afraid, never feel worthless, and never feel alone.”
― Shannon Alder
“You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.”
― Michelle Obama
“Everyone is afraid of something. We fear things because we value them. We fear losing people because we love them. We fear dying because we value being alive. Don't wish you didn't fear anything. All that would mean is that you didn't feel anything.”
― Cassandra Clare, Lord of Shadows
“When we think we have been hurt by someone in the past, we build up defenses to protect ourselves from being hurt in the future. So the fearful past causes a fearful future, and the past and future become one. We cannot love when we feel fear... When we release the fearful past and forgive everyone, we will experience total love and oneness with all.”
― Gerald G. Jampolsky
“People are supposed to fear the unknown, but ignorance is bliss when knowledge is so damn frightening.”
― Laurell K. Hamilton, The Laughing Corpse
“Courage is knowing what not to fear.”
― Plato
“One has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear.”
― Paulo Coelho
“Fear is a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life.”
― Donald Miller
“It’s OKAY to be scared. Being scared means, you’re about to do something really, really brave.”
― Mandy Hale
“We promise, according to our hopes and perform according to our fears.”
― François de La Rochefoucauld
“Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me; danger is very real, but fear is a choice.”
― Will Smith
“When you are grateful, fear disappears, and abundance appears.”
― Anthony Robbins
“Fear is inevitable, I have to accept that, but I cannot allow it to paralyze me.”
― Isabel Allende
“I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear.”
― Oprah Winfrey
“The best way to deal with fear is to confront it.”
― Pittacus Lore
“The bravest person I know is afraid of the dark. She sleeps with a night lamp always, but if her friends are threatened? She suddenly thinks she's a bear twelve feet tall and attacks whoever scared her friends.”
― Tamora Pierce
“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”
― Jack Canfield
“To overcome fear is the quickest way to gain your self-confidence.”
― Roy T. Bennett
“Many times, the thought of fear itself is greater than what it is we fear.”
― Idowu Koyenikan
“Your fear is 100% dependent on you for its survival.”
― Steve Maraboli
“If you try to get rid of fear and anger without knowing their meaning, they will grow stronger and return.”
― Deepak Chopra
“It's all right to be afraid. You just don't let it stop you from doing your job.”
― Jim Butcher
“Mindless fear is greater than mindful fear.”
― Idowu Koyenikan
“If you want to control someone, all you have to do is to make them feel afraid.”
― Paulo Coelho
“You can only be afraid of what you think you know.”
― Jiddu Krishnamurti
“Children have a lesson adults should learn, to not be ashamed of failing, but to get up and try again. Most of us adults are so afraid, so cautious, so 'safe,' and therefore so shrinking and rigid and afraid that it is why so many humans fail. Most middle-aged adults have resigned themselves to failure.”
― Malcolm X
“What you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists.”
― Spencer Johnson
“You have two choices, to conquer your fear or to let your fear conquer you.”
― Roy T. Bennett
“I have always felt that doubt was the beginning of wisdom, and the fear of God was the end of wisdom.”
― Clarence Darrow
“Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done—that's courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one who lets fear rule him is a coward.”
― Piers Anthony
“Fear can make you do more wrong than hate or jealousy... fear makes you always, always hold something back.”
― Philip K. Dick
“Love didn't grow very well in a place where there was only fear.”
― Stephen King
“Men have two greatest fears: the first fear is the fear of being needed, and the second fear is the fear of not being needed.”
― C. JoyBell C.
“When we're afraid, we lose all sense of analysis and reflection. Our fear paralyzes us. Besides, fear has always been the driving force behind all dictators' repression.”
― Marjane Satrapi
“When you teach them-teach them not to fear. Fear is good in small amounts, but when it is a constant, pounding companion, it cuts away at who you are and makes it hard to do what you know is right.”
― Christopher Paolini
“Mastering others is strength. Mastering oneself makes you fearless.”
― Lao Tzu
“Never miss an opportunity to show your love, especially to those close to you, because we are always at our most cautious with them for fear of being hurt.”
― Paulo Coelho
“Fear is stronger than love, remember that. Fear is stronger than love; all that love I gave didn't mean nothing when it came to fear.”
― Tupac Shakur
“It is difficult to make the right choice if you fear choosing wrongly.”
― Roy T. Bennett
Conclusion:
Ruth Gendler right pointed out that “Fear has an enormous shadow, but he himself is small.” How true is that! Fear looks and behaves big, but a little courage is enough to shut it down. The fear quotes we shared here will make you courageous and will help you face your fear. We humbly believe in that.