--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fear is good. In the right degree it…" description: "\"Fear is good. In the right degree it prevents us from making fools of ourselves. But in the wrong measure it prevents us from fully living. Fear is our..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/alan-brennert-14608_boon_fear-is-good-in-the-right-degree-it-prev_3234242.jpg" --- # Fear is good. In the right degree it prevents us from… ![“Fear is good. In the right degree it prevents us from making fools of ourselves. But in the wrong measure it prevents us from fully living. Fear is our boon companion but never our master.” quote by Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/alan-brennert-14608_boon_fear-is-good-in-the-right-degree-it-prev_3234242.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/alan-brennert-14608_boon_fear-is-good-in-the-right-degree-it-prev_3234242.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/alan-brennert-14608_boon_fear-is-good-in-the-right-degree-it-prev_3234242.jpg) > “Fear is good. In the right degree it prevents us from making fools of ourselves. But in the wrong measure it prevents us from fully living. Fear is our boon companion but never our master.” [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear can motivate or limit depending on its intensity; balanced fear encourages growth while excess stifles experience. **In simple terms:** Fear helps or hinders based on amount. Key Takeaway Balance fear to stay safe yet alive. Themes courage self‑awareness growth Mood anxious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - personal relationships - creative projects - public speaking Key Concepts risk management psychology motivation Questions to Reflect On - How much fear is healthy for you? - What would you try if fear were reduced? A Different Perspective Too much fear can cause paralysis and missed opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boon/) [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Boon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-boon-6130220/) [Fear Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-good/) [Fear Is Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-is-good/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Living Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-fear-871115/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes, fear is good. Sometimes it's a good thing to have a little bit of a reality check.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/sometimes-fear-is-good-sometimes-it-s-a-good-thing-to-have-a-little/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [There is a time when fear is good and ought to remain seated as a guardian of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/there-is-a-time-when-fear-is-good-and-ought-to-remain-seated-as-a/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [There are times when fear is good. It must keep its watchful place at the heart's controls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/there-are-times-when-fear-is-good-it-must-keep-its-watchful-place-at/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [FEAR is good afaird is bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mrawesome/fear-is-good-afaird-is-bad/) [MrAwesome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mrawesome/) > [Fear - It's a fine line between that and pushing yourself. You definitely reach new heights when you push. But fear is good. Fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-gilmore/fear-it-s-a-fine-line-between-that-and-pushing-yourself-you/) [Stephanie Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-gilmore/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/when-you-teach-them-teach-them-not-to-fear-fear-is-good-in-small/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [Fear is good…it gives you the drive to survive...but having too much of it will leave you confused and corrupt your valuable mind...So use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasari/fear-is-good-it-gives-you-the-drive-to-survive-but-having-too-much-of/) [Jasari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasari/) > [Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/are-you-paralyzed-with-fear-that-s-a-good-sign-fear-is-good-like-self/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [A little fear is good for a fellow, it keeps him from getting over-confident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-little-fear-is-good-for-a-fellow-it-keeps-him-from-getting-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“St. Chrysostom says: "What is worse than hell? But nothing is more profitable than the fear thereof. For the fear of hell ob tains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pohle/st-chrysostom-says-what-is-worse-than-hell-but-nothing-is-more/) [Joseph Pohle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pohle/) > [I think what I've come to now is, that fear is good; it's what life is about. You need to be afraid because fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/i-think-what-i-ve-come-to-now-is-that-fear-is-good-it-s-what-life-is/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [Fear is good, for it makes us cautious and aids survival. Not so with terror. It is like slow poison, paralyzing the limbs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/fear-is-good-for-it-makes-us-cautious-and-aids-survival-not-so-with/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [My father says that fear is good; it's the body's alarm system, it warns us of danger. But sometimes danger can't be avoided, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/my-father-says-that-fear-is-good-it-s-the-body-s-alarm-system-it/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Fear is good and useful when it's deployed on the side of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hitchens/fear-is-good-and-useful-when-it-s-deployed-on-the-side-of-common-sense/) [Peter Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hitchens/) > [There are times when fear is good. It must keep its watchful place at the heart's controls. There is advantage in the wisdom won…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/there-are-times-when-fear-is-good-it-must-keep-its-watchful-place-at-2/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) ## More by Alan Brennert > [“There is beauty in the least beautiful of things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/there-is-beauty-in-the-least-beautiful-of-things/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Old Korean adage, "Even jade has flaws." Or, in other words: Nothing in life is ever perfect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/old-korean-adage-even-jade-has-flaws-or-in-other-words-nothing-in/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Summer in Honolulu brings the sweet smell of mangoes, guava, and passionfruit, ripe for picking; it arbors the streets with the fiery red umbrellas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/summer-in-honolulu-brings-the-sweet-smell-of-mangoes-guava-and/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [Perhaps you need to look back before you can move ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/perhaps-you-need-to-look-back-before-you-can-move-ahead/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“We moved into Jade Moon's rooming house within the week, and slowly she and I found that our friendship, though damaged, was like fabric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/we-moved-into-jade-moon-s-rooming-house-within-the-week-and-slowly/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Isn't it strange, how one so afraid of contracting a fatal malady...should so earnestly wish for death, as well?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/isn-t-it-strange-how-one-so-afraid-of-contracting-a-fatal-malady/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [God didn't give man wings; He gave him the brains and the spirit to give himself wings. Just as He gave us the capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/god-didn-t-give-man-wings-he-gave-him-the-brains-and-the-spirit-to/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“They toured the new hospital, the renovated and expanded McVeigh Home, and the (named without apparent irony) Bay View Home for the Blind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/they-toured-the-new-hospital-the-renovated-and-expanded-mcveigh-home/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“Carve the peg by looking at the hole.' Eddie looked at me blankly and I explained, 'An old Korean saying. It means, Do things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/carve-the-peg-by-looking-at-the-hole-eddie-looked-at-me-blankly-and-i/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“...she bid me to look out on the lawn at the leper girls who were running on lame feet, playing croquet with crippled hands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/she-bid-me-to-look-out-on-the-lawn-at-the-leper-girls-who-were/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“She had never been afraid of the dark, but then she had never known a dark like this before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/she-had-never-been-afraid-of-the-dark-but-then-she-had-never-known-a/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [I've come to believe that how we choose to live with pain, or injustice, or death…is the true measure of the Divine within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/i-ve-come-to-believe-that-how-we-choose-to-live-with-pain-or/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“...and all they could do was sit, sleep, eat, and be reminded day after day, night after night, of their disease and eventual death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/and-all-they-could-do-was-sit-sleep-eat-and-be-reminded-day-after-day/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“But no - I was his wife, and it was my duty to share his pain as I shared his success. I walked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/but-no-i-was-his-wife-and-it-was-my-duty-to-share-his-pain-as-i/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) > [“What's it like? Being married? Cold feet. Middle of the night you're sleeping, suddenly, wham, you've got ice cold feet warming themselves on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-brennert/what-s-it-like-being-married-cold-feet-middle-of-the-night-you-re/) [Alan Brennert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) [Explore all 46 Alan Brennert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-brennert/) ## More Boon quotes > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Truly, the bench is a boon to idlers. Whoever first came up with the idea is a genius: free public resting places where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/truly-the-bench-is-a-boon-to-idlers-whoever-first-came-up-with-the/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [Death is an ill; 'tis thus the Gods decide: / For had death been a boon, the Gods had died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sappho/death-is-an-ill-tis-thus-the-gods-decide-for-had-death-been-a-boon/) [Sappho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sappho/) > [Women, you overheated dipsomaniacs, never passing up a chance to wangle a drink, a great boon to bartenders but a bane to us--not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/women-you-overheated-dipsomaniacs-never-passing-up-a-chance-to-wangle/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Sisterly love is one of the few boons in this life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bowles/sisterly-love-is-one-of-the-few-boons-in-this-life/) [Jane Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bowles/) > [A good thought is indeed a great boon, for which God is to be first thanked; next he who is the first to utter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/a-good-thought-is-indeed-a-great-boon-for-which-god-is-to-be-first/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Texting is a fundamentally sneaky form of communication, which we should despise, but it is such a boon we don't care. We are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/texting-is-a-fundamentally-sneaky-form-of-communication-which-we/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [Prayer is, paradoxically, both a gift and a conquest, a grace and a duty. Does that not mean, is it not a special case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-forsyth/prayer-is-paradoxically-both-a-gift-and-a-conquest-a-grace-and-a-duty/) [Peter Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-forsyth/) > [Friendship, peculiar boon of Heaven, The noble mind's delight and pride, To men and angels only given, To all the lower world denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/friendship-peculiar-boon-of-heaven-the-noble-mind-s-delight-and-pride/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [My mother and father were never frightened of anything. They always felt that they should go through life happily and without fear, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassavetes/my-mother-and-father-were-never-frightened-of-anything-they-always/) [John Cassavetes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassavetes/) > [Whate'er my doom; It cannot be unhappy: God hath given me The boon of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/whate-er-my-doom-it-cannot-be-unhappy-god-hath-given-me-the-boon-of/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Is life a boon? If so, it must befall That Death, whene'er he call, Must call too soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/is-life-a-boon-if-so-it-must-befall-that-death-whene-er-he-call-must/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [I do think that I have been fortunate to make friendships with other scholars, and form reading groups where ideas are exchanged and papers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-d-crisp/i-do-think-that-i-have-been-fortunate-to-make-friendships-with-other/) [Oliver D. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) > [Youth is a silly, vapid state, Old age with fears and ills is rife, This simple boon I beg of Fate - A thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/youth-is-a-silly-vapid-state-old-age-with-fears-and-ills-is-rife-this/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking. And out of it we get an aggregation which we consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-all-do-no-end-of-feeling-and-we-mistake-it-for-thinking-and-out-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Browse all 126 Boon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fear is good. In the right degree it prevents us from making fools of ourselves. But in the wrong measure it prevents us from fully living. 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