19 Quotes About Facing Your Fears

Underneath your fears lie great opportunities. Because when you start doing the things that scare you the most, tearing down the invisible barriers that separate you from the good life, you become the person you’ve always dreamed about in your mind: your ideal self.

That means finding your courage is a life-changing decision. Fear will always be around to tell you what you can’t do—it’s up to you to face your fears, and tell yourself that you can.

Related: Why You Should Look Your Fears in the Eye and Smile

Start overcoming your fears today with an inspirational push from these 19 encouraging quotes.

1. “Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.” —Helen Keller

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2. “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.” —Henry Ford

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3. “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

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4. “Fears are nothing more than a state of mind.” —Napoleon Hill

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5. “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

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6. “The eagle has no fear of adversity. We need to be like the eagle and have a fearless spirit of a conqueror!” —Joyce Meyer

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7. “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

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8. “Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it.” —Bear Grylls

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9. “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” —Babe Ruth

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10. “Great fear is concealed under daring.” —Lucan

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11. “Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

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12. “Fear has its use, but cowardice has none.” —Mahatma Gandhi

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13. “Fear comes from uncertainty. When we are absolutely certain, whether of our worth or worthlessness, we are almost impervious to fear.” —William Congreve

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14. “Fear not, we are of the nature of the lion, and cannot descend to the destruction of mice and such small beasts.” —Elizabeth I

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15. “If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?” —Confucius

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16. “Action cures fear, inaction creates terror.” —Douglas Horton

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17. “Living with fear stops us taking risks, and if you don’t go out on the branch, you’re never going to get the best fruit.” —Sarah Parish

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18. “You just have to get rid of fear and confront the world. Look at yourself in the mirror and say to yourself, ‘I love you and nothing will destroy you and you’re not going to fall.’” —Ricky Martin

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19. “Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.” —Dale Carnegie

Related: 7 Motivational Quotes to Help You Face Your Fears