--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To have courage, one must first be…" description: "\"To have courage, one must first be afraid. The deeper the fear, the more difficult the climb toward courage.\" — Jim Bishop" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/jim-bishop-21544_afraid_to-have-courage-one-must-first-be-afraid_2156543.png" --- # To have courage, one must first be afraid. The deeper the… ![“To have courage, one must first be afraid. The deeper the fear, the more difficult the climb toward courage.” quote by Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/jim-bishop-21544_afraid_to-have-courage-one-must-first-be-afraid_2156543.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/jim-bishop-21544_afraid_to-have-courage-one-must-first-be-afraid_2156543.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/jim-bishop-21544_afraid_to-have-courage-one-must-first-be-afraid_2156543.png) > “To have courage, one must first be afraid. The deeper the fear, the more difficult the climb toward courage.” [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Courage emerges when we acknowledge fear; the deeper the fear, the greater the effort to become brave. **In simple terms:** Courage needs fear first. Key Takeaway Face fear to grow brave. Themes courage fear personal growth Mood determined reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - career challenges - personal setbacks - new relationships Key Concepts psychology resilience Questions to Reflect On - What fear are you avoiding? - How can you use fear as a guide? A Different Perspective Fear can paralyze, making courage hard to act on. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ## Related quotes > [With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/with-a-hangover-and-with-fear-it-is-difficult-to-put-a-helmet-on-your/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [It is not fear that stops you from doing the brave and true thing in your daily life. Rather, the problem is avoidance. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-lerner/it-is-not-fear-that-stops-you-from-doing-the-brave-and-true-thing-in/) [Harriet Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-lerner/) > [“Nothing encumbered movement more than fear, which was often the most difficult burden to surrender.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/nothing-encumbered-movement-more-than-fear-which-was-often-the-most/) [Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/) > [“It is very easy to create fear but very difficult to instill confidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balan-gothandaraman/it-is-very-easy-to-create-fear-but-very-difficult-to-instill/) [Balan Gothandaraman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balan-gothandaraman/) > [I get so nervous on stage I can't help but talk. I try. I try telling my brain: stop sending words to the mouth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele/i-get-so-nervous-on-stage-i-can-t-help-but-talk-i-try-i-try-telling/) [Adele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele/) > [Above all, don’t fear difficult moments. The best comes from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-levi-montalcini/above-all-don-t-fear-difficult-moments-the-best-comes-from-them/) [Rita Levi-Montalcini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-levi-montalcini/) > [The shackles of belief, when reinforced by fear, are difficult to break free from and rarely done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/the-shackles-of-belief-when-reinforced-by-fear-are-difficult-to-break/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [Courage is when your afraid, and still saddle up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moores/courage-is-when-your-afraid-and-still-saddle-up/) [Sarah Moores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moores/) > [It needs courage to be afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/it-needs-courage-to-be-afraid/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [True courage is being afraid, and going ahead and doing your job anyhow, that's what courage is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-schwarzkopf/true-courage-is-being-afraid-and-going-ahead-and-doing-your-job/) [Norman Schwarzkopf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-schwarzkopf/) > [Courage looks you straight in the eye. 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Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Real courage is being afraid but doing it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/real-courage-is-being-afraid-but-doing-it-anyway/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [The true meaning of courage is to be afraid, and then, with your knees knocking and your heart racing, to step out anyway—even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-true-meaning-of-courage-is-to-be-afraid-and-then-with-your-knees/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Jim Bishop > [It is impossible to read for pleasure from something to which you are both father and mother, born in such travail that the writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/it-is-impossible-to-read-for-pleasure-from-something-to-which-you-are/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [What makes a good writer of history is a guy who is suspicious. Suspicion marks the real difference between the man who wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/what-makes-a-good-writer-of-history-is-a-guy-who-is-suspicious/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [At 19, everything is possible and tomorrow looks friendly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/at-19-everything-is-possible-and-tomorrow-looks-friendly/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Golf is played by twenty million mature American men whose wives think they are out having fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/golf-is-played-by-twenty-million-mature-american-men-whose-wives/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Death is as casual and often as unexpected as birth. It is as difficult to define grief as joy. Each is finite. Each will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/death-is-as-casual-and-often-as-unexpected-as-birth-it-is-as/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Archaeology is the peeping Tom of the sciences. It is the sandbox of men who care not where they are going; they merely want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/archaeology-is-the-peeping-tom-of-the-sciences-it-is-the-sandbox-of/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Gimme: an agreement between two losers who can't putt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/gimme-an-agreement-between-two-losers-who-can-t-putt/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [A reporter meets interesting people. If he endures, he will get to know princes and presidents, popes and paupers, prostitutes and panderers. And always,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/a-reporter-meets-interesting-people-if-he-endures-he-will-get-to-know/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [“A friend asked what he thought of marriage, and Lincoln said quietly: “My father always said, when you make a bad bargain, hug it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/a-friend-asked-what-he-thought-of-marriage-and-lincoln-said-quietly/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/nothing-is-as-far-away-as-one-minute-ago/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [Mulligan: invented by an Irishman who wanted to hit one more twenty yard grounder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/mulligan-invented-by-an-irishman-who-wanted-to-hit-one-more-twenty/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [True love is night jasmine, a diamond in darkness, the heartbeat no cardiologist has ever heard. It is the most common of miracles, fashioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/true-love-is-night-jasmine-a-diamond-in-darkness-the-heartbeat-no/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [When you read about a car crash in which two or three youngsters are killed, do you pause to dwell on the amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/when-you-read-about-a-car-crash-in-which-two-or-three-youngsters-are/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [I can look at my books with pleasure from a distance. Four feet is close enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/i-can-look-at-my-books-with-pleasure-from-a-distance-four-feet-is/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [It is difficult to live in the present, ridiculous to live in the future, and impossible to live in the past. Nothing is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/it-is-difficult-to-live-in-the-present-ridiculous-to-live-in-the/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) [Explore all 29 Jim Bishop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) ## 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 > [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 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To have courage, one must first be afraid. 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