---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s an essential part of maturing…"
description: "\"“It’s an essential part of maturing, putting fear aside, because if there’s anything that cripples us it is fear.”\" — Anna Quindlen"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putti_2264598.png"
---

#  It’s an essential part of maturing, putting fear aside…

![“It’s an essential part of maturing, putting fear aside, because if there’s anything that cripples us it is fear.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putti_2264598.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putti_2264598.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putti_2264598.png)

> ““It’s an essential part of maturing, putting fear aside, because if there’s anything that cripples us it is fear.””

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Maturity involves confronting and moving beyond fear, as fear can paralyze growth and action.

**In simple terms:** Maturity means overcoming fear.

Key Takeaway

Face fear to grow.

Themes

personal growth psychology resilience

Mood

determined reflective

Type

motivational inspirational

When to use this quote

- career decisions
- public speaking
- relationship conflicts
- personal health

Key Concepts

fear maturity self‑development

Questions to Reflect On

- What fear is holding you back?
- How can you test fear safely?

A Different Perspective

Fear can also protect us from reckless risks, so balance is needed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/)

## Related quotes

> [There was something I was always very good at, however, and that was teaching myself not to be frightened while frightening things are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-was-something-i-was-always-very-good-at-however-and-that-was/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“We all fall off our horse but how many get back on? It's frightening to realize our vulnerability after a fall but we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daria-hosseinyoun/we-all-fall-off-our-horse-but-how-many-get-back-on-it-s-frightening/)

Daria Hosseinyoun

> [“If you can put fear aside, you're unstoppable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-hagberg/if-you-can-put-fear-aside-you-re-unstoppable/)

[Janet Hagberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-hagberg/)

> [“The unwarranted devotion. Putting up with the fear of being with the wrong person because you can’t deal with the fear of being alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-unwarranted-devotion-putting-up-with-the-fear-of-being-with-the-2/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [Putting up with the fear of being with the wrong person because you can't deal with the fear of being alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/putting-up-with-the-fear-of-being-with-the-wrong-person-because-you/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [When you put fear aside and follow your convictions, you get to try and achieve so many more things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marne-levine/when-you-put-fear-aside-and-follow-your-convictions-you-get-to-try/)

[Marne Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marne-levine/)

> [She had put despair and fear aside, as if they were garments she did not choose to wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-had-put-despair-and-fear-aside-as-if-they-were-garments-she-did/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“What are you putting off out of fear? Usually, what we most fear doing is what we most need to do. That phone call,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-are-you-putting-off-out-of-fear-usually-what-we-most-fear-doing/)

[Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/)

> [Putting fear into people is the principal goal of terrorists, and they have been successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beckel/putting-fear-into-people-is-the-principal-goal-of-terrorists-and-they/)

[Bob Beckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beckel/)

> [“If you are nervous about making the jump or simply putting it off out of fear of the unknown, here is your antidote. Write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/if-you-are-nervous-about-making-the-jump-or-simply-putting-it-off-out/)

[Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/)

> [Courage is about learning how to function despite the fear, to put aside your instincts to run or give in completely to the anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/courage-is-about-learning-how-to-function-despite-the-fear-to-put/)

[Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/)

> [When you're at the top you have to know how to delegate without putting the fear of God into people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ainsley-harriott/when-you-re-at-the-top-you-have-to-know-how-to-delegate-without/)

[Ainsley Harriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ainsley-harriott/)

> [A king is he who has laid fear aside and the base longings of an evil heart; whom ambition unrestrained and the fickle favor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/a-king-is-he-who-has-laid-fear-aside-and-the-base-longings-of-an-evil/)

[Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/)

> [“I have seen this too many times before. The unwarranted devotion. Putting up with the fear of being with the wrong person because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-have-seen-this-too-many-times-before-the-unwarranted-devotion/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [Really being able to harness my mental approach has kind of taken me to the next level, and obviously maturing as a player and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-arrieta/really-being-able-to-harness-my-mental-approach-has-kind-of-taken-me/)

[Jake Arrieta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-arrieta/)

## More by Anna Quindlen

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

[Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

## More Fear quotes

> [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/)

[Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/)

> [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/)

[Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/)

> [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/)

[M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/)

> [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/)

Nagisa Tatsumi

> [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/)

[Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/)

[Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/)

> [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/)

[Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/)

> [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/)

[Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/)

> [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/)

[Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

[Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It’s an essential part of maturing, putting fear aside, because if there’s anything that cripples us it is fear.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anna Quindlen"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putting-fear-aside-because-if/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fear"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putting-fear-aside-because-if/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putti_2264598.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putti_2264598.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/575/anna-quindlen-467_fear_it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putti_2264598.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It’s an essential part of maturing, putting fear aside, because if there’s anything that cripples us it is…” — Anna Quindlen",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Anna Quindlen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It’s an essential part of maturing,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putting-fear-aside-because-if/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-s-an-essential-part-of-maturing-putting-fear-aside-because-if/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
