--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fear is a sign-usually a sign that I'm…" description: "\"Fear is a sign-usually a sign that I'm doing something right.\" — Erica Jong" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/erica-jong-445_doing-right_fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-d_2668660.jpg" --- # Fear is a sign-usually a sign that I'm doing something… ![“Fear is a sign-usually a sign that I'm doing something right.” quote by Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/erica-jong-445_doing-right_fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-d_2668660.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/erica-jong-445_doing-right_fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-d_2668660.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/erica-jong-445_doing-right_fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-d_2668660.jpg) > “Fear is a sign-usually a sign that I'm doing something right.” [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## 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 indicates you’re on the right path. **In simple terms:** Fear signals progress. Key Takeaway Embrace fear as a guide. Themes fear creativity growth Mood cautious encouraging Type psychological motivational When to use this quote - artistic projects - career moves - personal development Key Concepts psychology risk‑taking Questions to Reflect On - When does fear warn against a good idea? - How to differentiate productive fear? A Different Perspective Fear can also signal danger. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doing right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-right/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [The turnings of life seldon show a sign-post; or rather, though the sign is always there, it is usually placed some distance back, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-turnings-of-life-seldon-show-a-sign-post-or-rather-though-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [I get a lot of fan mail and stuff, and usually it's for me to sign stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maisie-williams/i-get-a-lot-of-fan-mail-and-stuff-and-usually-it-s-for-me-to-sign/) [Maisie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maisie-williams/) > [“Fear isn’t a sign that you’re doing something wrong. It’s a sign that you’re doing something new. It doesn’t mean you’re not capable, qualified,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-wright/fear-isn-t-a-sign-that-you-re-doing-something-wrong-it-s-a-sign-that/) [Christy Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-wright/) > [When you sign yourself up for what you're doing, you have to take care of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/when-you-sign-yourself-up-for-what-you-re-doing-you-have-to-take-care/) [Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/) > [If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/if-you-re-not-failing-every-now-and-again-it-s-a-sign-you-re-not/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [If you are not failing now and again, its a sign you are not doing anything very innovative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/if-you-are-not-failing-now-and-again-its-a-sign-you-are-not-doing/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I see fear as a sign of intelligence, of preservation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rickson-gracie/i-see-fear-as-a-sign-of-intelligence-of-preservation/) [Rickson Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rickson-gracie/) > [I like to step into areas where I am afraid. Fear is a sign that I am going in the right direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-greiman/i-like-to-step-into-areas-where-i-am-afraid-fear-is-a-sign-that-i-am/) [April Greiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-greiman/) > [“God made all the creatures and them our love and out fear, To give sign, we and they are his children, one family here. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/god-made-all-the-creatures-and-them-our-love-and-out-fear-to-give/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [When you attempt something new, there's always fear. A couple of helpful slogans to me are "follow the fear" or "fear is a sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/when-you-attempt-something-new-there-s-always-fear-a-couple-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Fear is a sign to prepare yourself, not to stop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-valli/fear-is-a-sign-to-prepare-yourself-not-to-stop/) Eric Valli > [Sometimes a fear of being alone is a sign of placing too much of our love and faith in people and not enough in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-a-fear-of-being-alone-is-a-sign-of-placing-too-much-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Money will come to you when you are doing the right thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-phillips/money-will-come-to-you-when-you-are-doing-the-right-thing/) [Michael Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-phillips/) > [Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ko-wen-je/doing-the-right-things-is-more-important-than-doing-things-right/) [Ko Wen-je](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ko-wen-je/) > [If you think you're doing everything right, then you have a tendency to stand pat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stockton/if-you-think-you-re-doing-everything-right-then-you-have-a-tendency/) [John Stockton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stockton/) ## More by Erica Jong > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Will you ever? I dont think you will ever fully understand how you've touched my life and made me who I am.I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/will-you-ever-i-dont-think-you-will-ever-fully-understand-how-you-ve/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Give advice to your children while they're young enough to believe you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/give-advice-to-your-children-while-they-re-young-enough-to-believe/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Perhaps all artists were, in a sense, housewives: tenders of the earth household.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/perhaps-all-artists-were-in-a-sense-housewives-tenders-of-the-earth/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I have lived my life according to this principle: If I'm afraid of it, then I must do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-have-lived-my-life-according-to-this-principle-if-i-m-afraid-of-it/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I thought to spend my declining years writing poetry and teaching - but that won't pay the Bergdorf's bill. I think I'll move to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-thought-to-spend-my-declining-years-writing-poetry-and-teaching-but/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“Naomi Wolf dares to explode the myth of 'victim feminism' and pleads for allowing women to be as full of good and bad desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/naomi-wolf-dares-to-explode-the-myth-of-victim-feminism-and-pleads/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I knew I was in England by the smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-knew-i-was-in-england-by-the-smell/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The Lives of Great Men are more oft' at variance with their profess'd Phillosophies than consistent with 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-lives-of-great-men-are-more-oft-at-variance-with-their-profess-d/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Women's books are kind of discriminated against. If a man writes a book about his family stories, people think of it as literature. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/women-s-books-are-kind-of-discriminated-against-if-a-man-writes-a/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Many, many people have done a lot more sexual experimentation than I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/many-many-people-have-done-a-lot-more-sexual-experimentation-than-i/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“Is life much too long for an immortal?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/is-life-much-too-long-for-an-immortal/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Don't ye know that ev'ry Soul on Earth feels itself to be an Orphan?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/don-t-ye-know-that-ev-ry-soul-on-earth-feels-itself-to-be-an-orphan/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Critics write out of intellectual exercise, not poets. Poets write straight from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/critics-write-out-of-intellectual-exercise-not-poets-poets-write/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Once I worshipped Keats for dying young. Now I think it's braver to die old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/once-i-worshipped-keats-for-dying-young-now-i-think-it-s-braver-to/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) [Explore all 542 Erica Jong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## More Doing right quotes > [If you think you're doing everything right, then you have a tendency to stand pat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stockton/if-you-think-you-re-doing-everything-right-then-you-have-a-tendency/) [John Stockton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stockton/) > [Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ko-wen-je/doing-the-right-things-is-more-important-than-doing-things-right/) [Ko Wen-je](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ko-wen-je/) > [Money will come to you when you are doing the right thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-phillips/money-will-come-to-you-when-you-are-doing-the-right-thing/) [Michael Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-phillips/) > [When I made it, I still didn't wave the flag and say, Yeah go Asian people. I do want people to know that about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hugo/when-i-made-it-i-still-didn-t-wave-the-flag-and-say-yeah-go-asian/) [Chad Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hugo/) > [Any artist can't get away from the way the world works, which is that it wants to know what you did, and you're only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/any-artist-can-t-get-away-from-the-way-the-world-works-which-is-that/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/quality-means-doing-it-right-when-no-one-is-looking/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [“Because doing what is right is in your bones. Just follow where your bones take you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-x-stork/because-doing-what-is-right-is-in-your-bones-just-follow-where-your/) [Francisco X. Stork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-x-stork/) > [It's all about doing the right things at the right times and I believe I can win everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-cross/it-s-all-about-doing-the-right-things-at-the-right-times-and-i/) [Rob Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-cross/) > [You should never be proud of doing the right thing. You should just do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-smith/you-should-never-be-proud-of-doing-the-right-thing-you-should-just-do/) [Dean Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-smith/) > [“Management is about doing things right; leadership is about doing the right things. Peter Drucker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-banfield/management-is-about-doing-things-right-leadership-is-about-doing-the/) [Richard Banfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-banfield/) > [Audiences are hungry for something different. With binge-watching, they're hungry for interesting content they haven't seen before, and they want to be entertained. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-millar/audiences-are-hungry-for-something-different-with-binge-watching-they/) [Miles Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-millar/) > [“Doing better is creativity, doing faster is creativity, doing smarter is creativity, doing right is creativity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/doing-better-is-creativity-doing-faster-is-creativity-doing-smarter/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I went to Oregon to study permaculture and lived in an eco-village for a month outside Eugene. Its called Lost Valley. It was amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-page/i-went-to-oregon-to-study-permaculture-and-lived-in-an-eco-village/) [Ellen Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-page/) > [Never let making a profit stand in the way of doing the right thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-jenkins/never-let-making-a-profit-stand-in-the-way-of-doing-the-right-thing/) George W. Jenkins > [Knowing what is right is not the same as doing what is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-caine/knowing-what-is-right-is-not-the-same-as-doing-what-is-right/) [Christine Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-caine/) [Browse all 734 Doing right quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-right/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fear is a sign-usually a sign that I'm doing something right.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erica Jong" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-doing-something-right/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doing right" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-doing-something-right/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/erica-jong-445_doing-right_fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-d_2668660.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/erica-jong-445_doing-right_fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-d_2668660.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/erica-jong-445_doing-right_fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-d_2668660.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fear is a sign-usually a sign that I'm doing something right.” — Erica Jong", "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": "Erica Jong", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fear is a sign-usually a sign...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-doing-something-right/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/fear-is-a-sign-usually-a-sign-that-i-m-doing-something-right/#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 } } ] } ```