--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was afraid of looking into my…" description: "\"I was afraid of looking into my heart...afraid of thinking seriously about anything...I did not want to know whether I was loved, and I did not want to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/ivan-turgenev-2671_afraid_i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-af_3217441.jpg" --- # I was afraid of looking into my heart...afraid of thinking… ![“I was afraid of looking into my heart...afraid of thinking seriously about anything...I did not want to know whether I was loved, and I did not want to admit to myself that I was not loved...” quote by Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/ivan-turgenev-2671_afraid_i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-af_3217441.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/ivan-turgenev-2671_afraid_i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-af_3217441.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/ivan-turgenev-2671_afraid_i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-af_3217441.jpg) > “I was afraid of looking into my heart...afraid of thinking seriously about anything...I did not want to know whether I was loved, and I did not want to admit to myself that I was not loved...” [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoiding emotional truth leads to self‑deception and stagnation. **In simple terms:** Fear of feelings blocks self‑knowledge. Key Takeaway Confront feelings honestly. Themes fear self‑deception love introspection vulnerability Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - relationship counseling - personal growth - creative writing Key Concepts psychology existentialism emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - What truth are you avoiding? - How might honesty change your relationships? A Different Perspective Denial can protect temporarily but hinders growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admit Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admit-loved-4506231/) [Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) [Afraid Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-looking-2989955/) [Afraid Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-thinking-1271924/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-afraid-764298/) [My heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-heart/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [I can admit, now, that I must have loved Lena. Not in an Unnatural way, but my feelings for her must have been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-can-admit-now-that-i-must-have-loved-lena-not-in-an-unnatural-way/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [There are so many things we are afraid of, thinking that if we confront them, they will kill us. Most of it goes back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/there-are-so-many-things-we-are-afraid-of-thinking-that-if-we/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Do not allow yourself to suppress your thoughts. Instead, let the thoughts come before you and become a sort of observer. Start observing your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rama-swami/do-not-allow-yourself-to-suppress-your-thoughts-instead-let-the/) [Rama Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rama-swami/) > [I will not deny that my heart has long occupied itself with the most tender feelings for another. So strong were these impulses that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galen-beckett/i-will-not-deny-that-my-heart-has-long-occupied-itself-with-the-most/) [Galen Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galen-beckett/) > [I Can Admit I loved you I Can Admit I cried i lied I worried I fused i also got tired but you didnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanialoves/i-can-admit-i-loved-you-i-can-admit-i-cried-i-lied-i-worried-i-fused/) [Lanialoves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanialoves/) > [You're afraid because you're thinking about the end, not about what you're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-wyk/you-re-afraid-because-you-re-thinking-about-the-end-not-about-what/) [Helen Van Wyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-wyk/) > [“My heart’s afraid it’ll have to suffer….”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/my-heart-s-afraid-it-ll-have-to-suffer/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [ “Don't allow life to pass you by because you are afraid of \[looking\] stupid.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/don-t-allow-life-to-pass-you-by-because-you-are-afraid-of-looking/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [Don't be afraid to look silly. You are only holding yourself back if you are afraid of looking silly or failing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aisling-bea/don-t-be-afraid-to-look-silly-you-are-only-holding-yourself-back-if/) [Aisling Bea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aisling-bea/) > [We're often afraid of looking at our shadow because we want to avoid the shame or embarrassment that comes along with admitting mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/we-re-often-afraid-of-looking-at-our-shadow-because-we-want-to-avoid/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [You don't have to be afraid of looking into my face. We've done nothing to each other that time will not erase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-don-t-have-to-be-afraid-of-looking-into-my-face-we-ve-done/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“Can't be a hero if you're afraid of looking stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-d-harkrader/can-t-be-a-hero-if-you-re-afraid-of-looking-stupid/) [L.D. Harkrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-d-harkrader/) > [I used to be afraid of looking at the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-goulet/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-looking-at-the-audience/) [Robert Goulet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-goulet/) > [“Only if you are afraid of looking foolish, and I would have looked far more foolish if I persisted with an erroneous belief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-ella/only-if-you-are-afraid-of-looking-foolish-and-i-would-have-looked-far/) [Sara Ella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-ella/) > [I am afraid of looking at you because the more I do the more I fall in love with you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-afraid-of-looking-at-you-because-the-more-i-do-the-more-i-fall/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ivan Turgenev > [What a magnificent body, how I should like to see it on the dissecting table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/what-a-magnificent-body-how-i-should-like-to-see-it-on-the-dissecting/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [“I think; here I lie under a haystack… The tiny space I occupy is so infinitely small in comparison with the rest of space,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/i-think-here-i-lie-under-a-haystack-the-tiny-space-i-occupy-is-so/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [That is what poetry can do. It speaks to us of what does not exist, which is not only better than what exists, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/that-is-what-poetry-can-do-it-speaks-to-us-of-what-does-not-exist/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [So long as one's just dreaming about what to do, one can soar like an eagle and move mountains, it seems, but as soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/so-long-as-one-s-just-dreaming-about-what-to-do-one-can-soar-like-an/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [Most people can't understand how others can blow their noses differently than they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/most-people-can-t-understand-how-others-can-blow-their-noses/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [The past was a dream wasn't it? And who ever remembers dreams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/the-past-was-a-dream-wasn-t-it-and-who-ever-remembers-dreams/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [“But I think that I have already been moving too long in a sphere which is not my own. Flying fishes can hold out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/but-i-think-that-i-have-already-been-moving-too-long-in-a-sphere/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [“There was nothing ugly in the small, unprepossessing figure of this emancipated woman, but the expression on her face made a bad impression on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/there-was-nothing-ugly-in-the-small-unprepossessing-figure-of-this/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [“In his funeral oration the spokesman of the most artistic and critical of European nations, Ernest Renan, hailed him as one of the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/in-his-funeral-oration-the-spokesman-of-the-most-artistic-and/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [Love isn't actually a feeling at all--it's an illness, a certain condition of body and soul… Usually it takes possession of someone without his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/love-isn-t-actually-a-feeling-at-all-it-s-an-illness-a-certain/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [There's something tragic in the fate of almost every person--it's just that the tragic is often concealed from a person by the banal surface…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/there-s-something-tragic-in-the-fate-of-almost-every-person-it-s-just/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [“But I had absolutely lost all sense of personal dignity, and could not tear myself away from the spectacle of my own misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/but-i-had-absolutely-lost-all-sense-of-personal-dignity-and-could-not/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [“My son,' he wrote to me, 'fear the love of woman; fear that bliss, that poison…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/my-son-he-wrote-to-me-fear-the-love-of-woman-fear-that-bliss-that/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [Great God, grant that twice two be not four.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/great-god-grant-that-twice-two-be-not-four/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [What's terrible is that there's nothing terrible, that the very essence of life is petty, uninteresting, and degradingly trite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/what-s-terrible-is-that-there-s-nothing-terrible-that-the-very/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) [Explore all 146 Ivan Turgenev quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“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/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) [Darlene Senger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-senger/) > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) [Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was afraid of looking into my heart...afraid of thinking seriously about anything...I did not want to know whether I was loved, and I did not want to admit to myself that I was not loved...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ivan Turgenev" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-afraid-of-thinking-seriously/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afraid" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-afraid-of-thinking-seriously/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/ivan-turgenev-2671_afraid_i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-af_3217441.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/ivan-turgenev-2671_afraid_i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-af_3217441.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/ivan-turgenev-2671_afraid_i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-af_3217441.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was afraid of looking into my heart...afraid of thinking seriously about anything...I did not want to know…” — Ivan Turgenev", "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": "Ivan Turgenev", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was afraid of looking into...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-afraid-of-thinking-seriously/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/i-was-afraid-of-looking-into-my-heart-afraid-of-thinking-seriously/#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 } } ] } ```