Erich Fromm Quotes

When fear makes your choices for you, no security measures on earth will keep the things you dread from finding you. But if you can avoid avoidance - if you can choose to embrace experiences out of passion, enthusiasm, and a readiness to feel whatever arises - then nothing, nothing in all this dangerous world, can keep you from being safe.

We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light.

The strength of any weakness within us is the degree to which it is feared.

Be humble, be gracious, and make peace with inner fears before stepping out into the limelight and allowing yourself to be subjected to all of humanity.

The psychic task which a person can and must set for himself is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity.

It takes great courage to be vulnerable. It takes enormous strength to be a real woman.

I need to be able to face things.

I admired in others the strength that I lacked myself.

I think it's important to surrender to situations that take you out of your comfort zone.

For the longest, I was slightly naive when it came to the real world. There were a lot of fears I was afraid to conquer that were just holding me back from standing up for myself or taking chances.

I always thought I could be brave and charge at things and smash 'em and walk away, but it takes courage to sit and look at things and say, 'This is what I am. How do I fix it? How do I live with it?'

If you take control over those things you can, you are better able to negotiate the unexpected.

I don't think I am fearless. I am just me.

Scarlett, always save something to fear—even as you save something to love.

Sometimes I feel like there is so much to be afraid of, and sometimes I feel like there is nothing left to fear.

The courage to be is the most difficult thing for any human being.

Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional. Our only choice is a question of engagement. Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose; the level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection.

I think there is a part of me that's always a little bit like, "Why would I torture myself? Just in case you forgot how big the shoes are you're walking in, take a look again". Like, I think I pussy out. So, I'm not that kind of person.

Trust is not about being comfortable. It is about being willing to move beyond your comfort zone when there is absolutely no evidence you will be supported. Think of it this way. Trust is based on your ability to stand your ground and rely on your own abilities, knowing that no matter what happens, you will be better off than you were in the beginning.

Fear is a question: What are you afraid of, and why? Just as the seed of health is in illness, because illness contains information, your fears are a treasure house of self-knowledge if you explore them.

A lot of things have been thrown at me in life, and I've got through it all without a rule book, taking it one day at a time.

Yet in all those cases I finally steeled myself to seize the opportunity, and find a way to muddle through and eventually conclude that I had, in fact, chosen the right path, as risky as it seemed at the time.

That might have a lot to do with it, but you know, I probably don't show fear, but I suffer from fear like everyone else.

Until you're ready to look foolish, you'll never have the possibility of being great.

The deepest parts of you know that if freedom from fear was as easy as 'creating a new reality' for yourself, then you would already be the fearless person you know in your heart that you're meant to be.