--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we fear things I think that we wish…" description: "\"When we fear things I think that we wish for them ... every fear hides a wish\" — David Mamet" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/david-mamet-1178_fear_when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish_769277.jpg" --- # When we fear things I think that we wish for them… ![“When we fear things I think that we wish for them ... every fear hides a wish” quote by David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/david-mamet-1178_fear_when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish_769277.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/david-mamet-1178_fear_when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish_769277.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/david-mamet-1178_fear_when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish_769277.jpg) > “When we fear things I think that we wish for them ... every fear hides a wish” [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear often masks a hidden desire; confronting fear reveals what we truly want. **In simple terms:** Fear hides wishes. Key Takeaway Identify and pursue hidden desires. Themes psychology desire fear Mood introspective motivational Type psychological inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal growth - creative pursuits - relationship issues Key Concepts human motivation self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - What wish lies behind your current fear? - How can you transform fear into motivation? A Different Perspective Fear can be irrational and misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Hides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-hides-4518210/) [Fear Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-things/) [Hides Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hides-wish-4518211/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wish Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-fear-552033/) ## Related quotes > [Every fear hides a wish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/every-fear-hides-a-wish/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I know you don't want this, Katsa. But I can't help myself. The moment you came barreling into my life I was lost. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/i-know-you-don-t-want-this-katsa-but-i-can-t-help-myself-the-moment/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [“You must learn how to act according to what people say and do, not what they wish or fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-wecker/you-must-learn-how-to-act-according-to-what-people-say-and-do-not/) [Helene Wecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-wecker/) > [I have a wish. It as a fear as well - that in my end will be my beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-have-a-wish-it-as-a-fear-as-well-that-in-my-end-will-be-my-beginning/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [At the heart of the matter is a battle between wish and fear. Fear generally proves stronger than a wish, but it leaves a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/at-the-heart-of-the-matter-is-a-battle-between-wish-and-fear-fear/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [I wish I had less fear about creating my own parts. I like to write and draw and paint, and my mom's an artist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-wiig/i-wish-i-had-less-fear-about-creating-my-own-parts-i-like-to-write/) [Kristen Wiig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-wiig/) > [Beyond what we wish and what we fear may happen we have another life, as clear and free as a mountain stream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/beyond-what-we-wish-and-what-we-fear-may-happen-we-have-another-life/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [If you wish to fear nothing, consider that everything is to be feared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-elder/if-you-wish-to-fear-nothing-consider-that-everything-is-to-be-feared/) [Seneca the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-elder/) > [I wish I had less fear about creating my own parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-wiig/i-wish-i-had-less-fear-about-creating-my-own-parts/) [Kristen Wiig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-wiig/) > [“How I wish you were fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/how-i-wish-you-were-fear/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I wish I had no fear. Then I could wear anything I want, jump onto a moving train, and climb a tree to its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wish-i-had-no-fear-then-i-could-wear-anything-i-want-jump-onto-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When the wish and the fear are exactly the same, we call the dream a nightmare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/when-the-wish-and-the-fear-are-exactly-the-same-we-call-the-dream-a/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Didier once told me, in a rambling, midnight dissertation, that a dream is the place where a wish and a fear meet. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/didier-once-told-me-in-a-rambling-midnight-dissertation-that-a-dream/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [It seems like the more you grow up the more you fear things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-laurent/it-seems-like-the-more-you-grow-up-the-more-you-fear-things/) [Melanie Laurent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-laurent/) > [“Emma, everyone's afraid of something." Julian move slightly closer; she felt his shoulders bump hers. "We fear things because we value them. We fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/emma-everyone-s-afraid-of-something-julian-move-slightly-closer-she/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by David Mamet > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Culture exists and evolves to relegate to habit categories of interactions the constant conscious reference to which would make human interaction impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/culture-exists-and-evolves-to-relegate-to-habit-categories-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [When I started out I was a failed actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-i-started-out-i-was-a-failed-actor/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-must-have-a-pie-stress-cannot-exist-in-the-presence-of-a-pie/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“We cannot live in peace without Law. And though law cannot be perfect, it may be just if it is written in ignorance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-cannot-live-in-peace-without-law-and-though-law-cannot-be-perfect/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/films-have-degenerated-to-their-original-operation-as-carnival/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The Oscars demonstrate the will of the people to control and judge those they have elected to stand above them (much, perhaps, as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-oscars-demonstrate-the-will-of-the-people-to-control-and-judge/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I know very well what it is to be out of work and to be cheated by employers and I know what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-know-very-well-what-it-is-to-be-out-of-work-and-to-be-cheated-by/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Hitchcock denigrated American films, saying they were all 'pictures of people talking' - as, indeed, most of them are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/hitchcock-denigrated-american-films-saying-they-were-all-pictures-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“Life in the movie business is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/life-in-the-movie-business-is-like-the-beginning-of-a-new-love-affair/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“How was her crumbcake? oh.. from the store... …”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/how-was-her-crumbcake-oh-from-the-store/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [A dramatic experience concerned with the mundane may inform but it cannot release; and one concerned essentially with the aesthetic politics of its creators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/a-dramatic-experience-concerned-with-the-mundane-may-inform-but-it/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The product of the artist has become less important than the fact of the artist. We wish to absorb this person. We wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-product-of-the-artist-has-become-less-important-than-the-fact-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [In a world we find terrifying, we ratify that which doesn't threaten us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/in-a-world-we-find-terrifying-we-ratify-that-which-doesn-t-threaten-us/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“As a youth I enjoyed — indeed, like most of my contemporaries, revered — the agitprop plays of Brecht, and his indictments of Capitalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-a-youth-i-enjoyed-indeed-like-most-of-my-contemporaries-revered/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) [Explore all 278 David Mamet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "When we fear things I think that we wish for them ... every fear hides a wish", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Mamet" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish-for-them-every-fear-hides-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fear" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish-for-them-every-fear-hides-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/david-mamet-1178_fear_when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish_769277.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/david-mamet-1178_fear_when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish_769277.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf6/david-mamet-1178_fear_when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish_769277.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we fear things I think that we wish for them ... every fear hides a wish” — David Mamet", "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": "David Mamet", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we fear things I think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish-for-them-every-fear-hides-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-we-fear-things-i-think-that-we-wish-for-them-every-fear-hides-a/#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 } } ] } ```