--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you worship power, you will feel weak…" description: "\"If you worship power, you will feel weak and afraid, needing ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay.\" — David Foster Wallace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/david-foster-wallace-161_fear_if-you-worship-power-you-will-feel-weak_265214.jpg" --- # If you worship power, you will feel weak and afraid… ![“If you worship power, you will feel weak and afraid, needing ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay.” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/david-foster-wallace-161_fear_if-you-worship-power-you-will-feel-weak_265214.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/david-foster-wallace-161_fear_if-you-worship-power-you-will-feel-weak_265214.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/david-foster-wallace-161_fear_if-you-worship-power-you-will-feel-weak_265214.jpg) > “If you worship power, you will feel weak and afraid, needing ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay.” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeking power leads to fear, prompting a cycle of domination to feel safe. **In simple terms:** Power worship creates fear and more power seeking. Key Takeaway Break the cycle of power‑driven fear. Themes power fear insecurity control dynamics Mood thought‑provoking critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political leadership - workplace hierarchy - personal relationships - social media Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why do you seek power? - How can vulnerability replace dominance? A Different Perspective Power can be a fragile illusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Power over others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-over-others/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [Worship power-you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever ore power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/worship-power-you-will-feel-weak-and-afraid-and-you-will-need-ever/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Its okay to feel weak/afraid. The important thing is that we face our fears. Thats what makes us strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-okay-to-feel-weak-afraid-the-important-thing-is-that-we-face-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you worship money and things — if they are where you tap real meaning in life — then you will never have enough.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-worship-money-and-things-if-they-are-where-you-tap-real-2/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“They call me stupider then them even though I know its not a word. They call me ugly yet I'm not . They pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ssrwdf/they-call-me-stupider-then-them-even-though-i-know-its-not-a-word/) SsRwDF > [“I was once weak, I was always afraid, I hidden my tears, but I kept on going, I kept on believing, I followed my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erza-scarlet/i-was-once-weak-i-was-always-afraid-i-hidden-my-tears-but-i-kept-on/) Erza Scarlet > [“What—what are you going to do to me?” I hated how weak, how afraid I sounded. “Everything.” His voice was thick with promise. “But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/what-what-are-you-going-to-do-to-me-i-hated-how-weak-how-afraid-i/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) > [ \[God desires\] not that He may say to them, "Look how mighty I am, and go down upon your knees and worship," for power… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/god-desires-not-that-he-may-say-to-them-look-how-mighty-i-am-and-go/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“The worship of power is an old religion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-worship-of-power-is-an-old-religion/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [WHAT WE WORSHIP DETERMINES WHO WE BECOME If we worship money¦we become greedy If we worship sex¦we become lustful If we worship knowledge...we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yankson-newlove/what-we-worship-determines-who-we-become-if-we-worship-money-we/) Yankson Newlove > [“If we must worship a power greater than ourselves, does it not make sense to revere the Sun and stars?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-must-worship-a-power-greater-than-ourselves-does-it-not-make/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is one thing for the living water to descend from Christ into the heart, and another thing how-when it has descended-it moves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wigram/it-is-one-thing-for-the-living-water-to-descend-from-christ-into-the/) [George Wigram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wigram/) > [“So the novelist David Foster Wallace, not long before his suicide, spoke these words to the 2005 graduating class at Kenyon College: Everybody worships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/so-the-novelist-david-foster-wallace-not-long-before-his-suicide/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Animal cruelty is one of the most unfortunate and barbaric demonstrations of human beings manipulating ill conceived notions of ‘power’ over other species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-somerhalder/animal-cruelty-is-one-of-the-most-unfortunate-and-barbaric/) [Ian Somerhalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-somerhalder/) > [Real magic is not about gaining power over others: it is about gaining power over yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-ellen-guiley/real-magic-is-not-about-gaining-power-over-others-it-is-about-gaining/) [Rosemary Ellen Guiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-ellen-guiley/) > [But remember: All this talk of tolerance and diversity is basically just a way for one group of white people to pursue power over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-reynolds/but-remember-all-this-talk-of-tolerance-and-diversity-is-basically/) [Glenn Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-reynolds/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. 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