--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We crave and fear becoming truly ourselves" description: "\"We crave and fear becoming truly ourselves\" — Abraham Maslow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40b/abraham-maslow-2146_becoming_we-crave-and-fear-becoming-truly-ourselv_2328898.png" --- # We crave and fear becoming truly ourselves ![“We crave and fear becoming truly ourselves” quote by Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40b/abraham-maslow-2146_becoming_we-crave-and-fear-becoming-truly-ourselv_2328898.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40b/abraham-maslow-2146_becoming_we-crave-and-fear-becoming-truly-ourselv_2328898.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40b/abraham-maslow-2146_becoming_we-crave-and-fear-becoming-truly-ourselv_2328898.png) > “We crave and fear becoming truly ourselves” [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the paradox that people both desire and fear authentic self‑expression. **In simple terms:** Desire and fear of being true to oneself Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity despite fear Themes identity self‑actualization fear Mood reflective hopeful Type psychological motivational When to use this quote - career choices - creative work - relationships Key Concepts Psychology personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What holds you back from being authentic? - How can you balance desire and fear? A Different Perspective Fear can hinder self‑realization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Crave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crave/) [Crave Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crave-fear-2351590/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-truly-367025/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly/) ## Related quotes > [“People crave fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/people-crave-fear/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [“This is the truth: We are a nation accustomed to being afraid. 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It's the kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-honorable-desirable-kind-of-fear-that-shouldn-t-be-feared-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“The matter is difficult to put into words. For fear, real fear, such as shakes you to your foundation, such as you feel when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-matter-is-difficult-to-put-into-words-for-fear-real-fear-such-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-must-say-a-word-about-fear-it-is-life-s-only-true-opponent-only-4/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“For he or she that harbours no fear has never truly loved anything. 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More than our parents/children/teachers think we are. We fear that we actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/we-fear-discovering-that-we-are-more-than-we-think-we-are-more-than/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“The only way to ease our fear and be truly happy is to acknowledge our fear and look deeply at its source.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/the-only-way-to-ease-our-fear-and-be-truly-happy-is-to-acknowledge-2/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [Trying to understand the fear I had of truly opening my heart - first, you have to be whole to do that. The fears,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/trying-to-understand-the-fear-i-had-of-truly-opening-my-heart-first/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) ## More by Abraham Maslow > [It is unfortunate to consider all lawyers as natural Satanists many are just dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-is-unfortunate-to-consider-all-lawyers-as-natural-satanists-many/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Laugh at what you hold sacred, and still hold it sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/laugh-at-what-you-hold-sacred-and-still-hold-it-sacred/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Good psychology should include all the methodological techniques, without having loyalty to one method, one idea, or one person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/good-psychology-should-include-all-the-methodological-techniques/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Well why not a technology of joy, of happiness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/well-why-not-a-technology-of-joy-of-happiness/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under conditions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibilities-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [If you love the truth, you'll trust it - that is, you will expect it to be good, beautiful, perfect, orderly, etc., in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/if-you-love-the-truth-you-ll-trust-it-that-is-you-will-expect-it-to/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [My feeling is that the concept of creativeness and the concept of the healthy, self actualizing, fully human person seem to be coming closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/my-feeling-is-that-the-concept-of-creativeness-and-the-concept-of-the/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [We fear our highest possibility. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibility-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [...the great lesson is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one's daily life, in one's neighbors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/the-great-lesson-is-that-the-sacred-is-in-the-ordinary-that-it-is-to/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/dispassionate-objectivity-is-itself-a-passion-for-the-real-and-for/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/the-ability-to-be-in-the-present-moment-is-a-major-component-of/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Plateau experiencing can be achieved, learned, earned by long hard work… A transient glimpse is certainly possible in the peak experiences which may, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/plateau-experiencing-can-be-achieved-learned-earned-by-long-hard-work/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [You must want to be first-class ...meaning the best, the very best you are capable of becoming. If you deliberately plan to be less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/you-must-want-to-be-first-class-meaning-the-best-the-very-best-you/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [If you treat your children at home in the same way you treat your animals in the lab, your wife will scratch your eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/if-you-treat-your-children-at-home-in-the-same-way-you-treat-your/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [It is vital that people "count their blessings:" to appreciate what they possess without having to undergo its actual loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-is-vital-that-people-count-their-blessings-to-appreciate-what-they/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) [Explore all 182 Abraham Maslow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) [Christopher Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wood/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. 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