--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was scared of one thing after another…" description: "\"“I was scared of one thing after another. I still am. Naturally. How could it be otherwise? You can either be fearless or you can be free, you can’t be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a91/john-berger-1590_fearless_i-was-scared-of-one-thing-after-another_926525.png" --- # I was scared of one thing after another. I still am… ![“I was scared of one thing after another. I still am. Naturally. How could it be otherwise? You can either be fearless or you can be free, you can’t be both.” quote by John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a91/john-berger-1590_fearless_i-was-scared-of-one-thing-after-another_926525.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a91/john-berger-1590_fearless_i-was-scared-of-one-thing-after-another_926525.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a91/john-berger-1590_fearless_i-was-scared-of-one-thing-after-another_926525.png) > ““I was scared of one thing after another. I still am. Naturally. How could it be otherwise? You can either be fearless or you can be free, you can’t be both.”” [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear is inevitable; true freedom comes from embracing fear rather than denying it, but you cannot be both fearless and free simultaneously. **In simple terms:** You must accept fear to be truly free; you can't have both. Key Takeaway Embrace fear as a path to freedom. Themes fear freedom choice Mood thoughtful determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - creative projects - personal relationships - public speaking Key Concepts existentialism psychology agency Questions to Reflect On - Do you avoid fear or use it? - What does freedom mean when fear is present? A Different Perspective Fear can paralyze if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fearless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearless/) [Fearless Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearless-free-1186033/) [Naturally Fearless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturally-fearless-1475054/) [Scared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scared/) [Scared Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scared-thing-1119132/) ## Related quotes > [The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/the-more-you-are-motivated-by-love-the-more-fearless-and-free-your/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“If this is all we get, then let's take it. I want to be fearless and free," she says, giving me a look, daring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-lippincott/if-this-is-all-we-get-then-let-s-take-it-i-want-to-be-fearless-and/) [Rachael Lippincott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-lippincott/) > [The more you are motivated by Love, The more Fearless & Free your action will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-you-are-motivated-by-love-the-more-fearless-free-your-action/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't need love I'm love I'm enlightened full of knowledge and wisdom I'm fulfilled fearless and free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-vasquez/i-don-t-need-love-i-m-love-i-m-enlightened-full-of-knowledge-and/) [Christian Vasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-vasquez/) > [“You--" she chokes on a sob and draws back. "You're scared? What a thing to say. You had me thinking you were dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/you-she-chokes-on-a-sob-and-draws-back-you-re-scared-what-a-thing-to/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [You can't be scared. You do your thing, you hold your ground, you stand up tall, and whatever happens, happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-can-t-be-scared-you-do-your-thing-you-hold-your-ground-you-stand/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“When they asked for those to raise their hands who'd go down to the courthouse the next day, I raised mine. Had it high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/when-they-asked-for-those-to-raise-their-hands-who-d-go-down-to-the/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [ I guess if I'd had any sense, I'd have been a little scared \[to register to vote\] - but what was the point of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-guess-if-i-d-had-any-sense-i-d-have-been-a-little-scared-to/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [“I am scared of one thing in my life, to be unworthy of my sufferings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/i-am-scared-of-one-thing-in-my-life-to-be-unworthy-of-my-sufferings/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [When you suddenly saw spider next to you,that would be shocking,,scared thing that you wish that it will not crawl onto you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coraege/when-you-suddenly-saw-spider-next-to-you-that-would-be-shocking/) [Coraege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coraege/) > [The clock is the most scared thing in a hospital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/the-clock-is-the-most-scared-thing-in-a-hospital/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [“Once we realize that fear is normal, then we don’t have to wait until we aren’t scared to do the thing we want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-wright/once-we-realize-that-fear-is-normal-then-we-don-t-have-to-wait-until/) [Christy Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-wright/) > [I'm scared everyday. but it doesn't mean I'm not going to live my life the way I want to. You have to face your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bambii/i-m-scared-everyday-but-it-doesn-t-mean-i-m-not-going-to-live-my-life/) [Bambii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bambii/) > [I'm constantly scared. I'm constantly fearful of what's to come and people don't realize that just because you're doing something doesn't mean that you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-bailon/i-m-constantly-scared-i-m-constantly-fearful-of-what-s-to-come-and/) [Adrienne Bailon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-bailon/) > [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/) ## More by John Berger > [When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/when-we-read-a-story-we-inhabit-it-the-covers-of-the-book-are-like-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Oil painting did to appearances what capital did to social relations. It reduced everything to the equality of objects. Everything became exchangeable because everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/oil-painting-did-to-appearances-what-capital-did-to-social-relations/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Landscapes can be deceptive. Sometimes a landscape seems to be less a setting for the life of its inhabitants than a curtain behind which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/landscapes-can-be-deceptive-sometimes-a-landscape-seems-to-be-less-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We live in a dominant culture of ceaseless Departure and Progress that has so far lasted two or three centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-live-in-a-dominant-culture-of-ceaseless-departure-and-progress/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [My heart born naked was swaddled in lullabies. Later alone it wore poems for clothes. Like a shirt I carried on my back the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/my-heart-born-naked-was-swaddled-in-lullabies-later-alone-it-wore/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [ There's the artist's intimacy and truthfulness to himself, but an equal intimacy to the Other \[the one drawn\]. Picasso drawings are like that... the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/there-s-the-artist-s-intimacy-and-truthfulness-to-himself-but-an/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Traditional Chinese art looked at the Earth from a Confucian mountain top; Japanese art looked closely around screens; Italian Renaissance art surveyed conquered nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/traditional-chinese-art-looked-at-the-earth-from-a-confucian-mountain/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Never again shall a single story be told as though it were the only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/never-again-shall-a-single-story-be-told-as-though-it-were-the-only/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [In drawing after drawing, pastel after pastel, painting after painting, the contours of Degas's dancing figures become, at a certain point, darkly insistent, tangled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/in-drawing-after-drawing-pastel-after-pastel-painting-after-painting/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-never-look-at-just-one-thing-we-are-always-looking-at-the-relation/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We can become anything. That is why injustice is impossible here. There may be the accident of birth, there is no accident of death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-can-become-anything-that-is-why-injustice-is-impossible-here-there/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Capitalism survives by forcing the majority, whom it exploits, to define their own interests as narrowly as possible. This was once achieved by extensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/capitalism-survives-by-forcing-the-majority-whom-it-exploits-to/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The camera relieves us of the burden of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-camera-relieves-us-of-the-burden-of-memory/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“Today we see the art of the past as nobody saw it before. We actually perceive it in a different way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/today-we-see-the-art-of-the-past-as-nobody-saw-it-before-we-actually/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) [Explore all 214 John Berger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## More Fearless quotes > [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/) > [Clapping the longest during an assembly because you're a fearless bastard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/clapping-the-longest-during-an-assembly-because-you-re-a-fearless/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [There are those that say, if you do the uncomfortable thing long enough, it will become comfortable. But we are really not encouragers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/there-are-those-that-say-if-you-do-the-uncomfortable-thing-long/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“True humility is fearless honesty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/true-humility-is-fearless-honesty/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [You are facing death and danger and competition, but at any moment, you can decide to have a fearless mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/you-are-facing-death-and-danger-and-competition-but-at-any-moment-you/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [There is one stark fact facing us: three quarters of all crime that results in a caution or sentence happens because of reoffending. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gauke/there-is-one-stark-fact-facing-us-three-quarters-of-all-crime-that/) [David Gauke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gauke/) > [I was fearless. Wild horses couldn't stop me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-vanderbilt/i-was-fearless-wild-horses-couldn-t-stop-me/) [Gloria Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-vanderbilt/) > [“Appear On Your Fear, It Will Disappear”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syed-sharukh/appear-on-your-fear-it-will-disappear/) [Syed Sharukh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syed-sharukh/) > [Be brave! Be strong! Be fearless! Once you have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long as there is any life in you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/be-brave-be-strong-be-fearless-once-you-have-taken-up-the-spiritual/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [ I'm like our fearless leader \[Jesus\]. Where do I get my inspiration? I don't know. I just make fun of everything. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/i-m-like-our-fearless-leader-jesus-where-do-i-get-my-inspiration-i/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [“To control your life, control your mind. To control your mind, control your breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-control-your-life-control-your-mind-to-control-your-mind-control/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [Be the fearless girl that everyone knows would dare to do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/be-the-fearless-girl-that-everyone-knows-would-dare-to-do-anything/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [People ask me how I am so fearless on a ladder and how I have no fear in the ring. 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