--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You remember the old Roadrunner cartoons…" description: "\"“You remember the old Roadrunner cartoons, where the coyote would run off a cliff and keep going, until he looked down and happened to notice that he w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/jonathan-tropper-1555_panic_you-remember-the-old-roadrunner-cartoons_2362400.jpg" --- # You remember the old Roadrunner cartoons, where the coyote… ![“You remember the old Roadrunner cartoons, where the coyote would run off a cliff and keep going, until he looked down and happened to notice that he was running on nothing more than air?" "Yeah." "Well," he said, "I always used to wonder what would have happened if he'd never looked down. Would…” quote by Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/jonathan-tropper-1555_panic_you-remember-the-old-roadrunner-cartoons_2362400.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/jonathan-tropper-1555_panic_you-remember-the-old-roadrunner-cartoons_2362400.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/jonathan-tropper-1555_panic_you-remember-the-old-roadrunner-cartoons_2362400.jpg) > ““You remember the old Roadrunner cartoons, where the coyote would run off a cliff and keep going, until he looked down and happened to notice that he was running on nothing more than air?" "Yeah." "Well," he said, "I always used to wonder what would have happened if he'd never looked down. Would the air have stayed solid under his feet until he reached the other side? I think we're all like that. We start heading out across this canyon, looking straight ahead at the thing that matters, but something, some fear or insecurity, makes us look down. And we see we're walking on air, and we panic, and turn around and scramble like hell to get back to solid ground. And if we just wouldn't look down, we could make it to the other side. The place where things matter.”” [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear and doubt cause us to retreat, but ignoring them can lead to breakthroughs across challenges. **In simple terms:** Ignore fear to reach goals. Key Takeaway Trust the journey, keep moving forward. Themes fear confidence journey Mood encouraging reflective Type inspirational metaphorical When to use this quote - starting a new career - public speaking - starting a business - personal growth Key Concepts psychology of anxiety risk taking perseverance Questions to Reflect On - What fear holds you back? - How can you test the solidity of your “air”? A Different Perspective Denial can be reckless without preparation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Canyon Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canyon-looking-4179456/) [Coyote Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coyote-run-5788692/) [Fear Insecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-insecurity-324373/) [Looked Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looked-air-5788693/) [Panic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/panic/) ## Related quotes > [I can still remember my first experience of standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon and looking into it. It was so awesome,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-goulston/i-can-still-remember-my-first-experience-of-standing-at-the-edge-of/) [Mark Goulston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-goulston/) > [I am super inspired by the Grand Canyon. Looking at nature and observing what it does even looking at a little seed, is impressive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kissey/i-am-super-inspired-by-the-grand-canyon-looking-at-nature-and/) [Kissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kissey/) > [The finest people, as people go, cannot help but betray a fair portion of fear and insecurity, even full-blown panic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-finest-people-as-people-go-cannot-help-but-betray-a-fair-portion/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [Don't let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. Believe in yourself. Do what you love. And most importantly, be kind to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-london/don-t-let-fear-or-insecurity-stop-you-from-trying-new-things-believe/) [Stacy London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-london/) > [“Crime sucked the lifeblood from the new South Africa like a deadly leech, leaving it debilitated and wracked by fear and insecurity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-glenny/crime-sucked-the-lifeblood-from-the-new-south-africa-like-a-deadly/) [Misha Glenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-glenny/) > [I fear everything. Darkness, light, fear of insecurity, fear of women, fear of conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/i-fear-everything-darkness-light-fear-of-insecurity-fear-of-women/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [During these unstable times, let go of any fear or insecurity in your emotions. Look for new ways that you can be rewarded for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-wentroble/during-these-unstable-times-let-go-of-any-fear-or-insecurity-in-your/) [Barbara Wentroble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-wentroble/) > [Work is life, you know, and without it, there's nothing but fear and insecurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/work-is-life-you-know-and-without-it-there-s-nothing-but-fear-and/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [Our true identity is to love without fear and insecurity. Our higher potential finds us when we set our course in that direction. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-childre/our-true-identity-is-to-love-without-fear-and-insecurity-our-higher/) [Doc Childre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-childre/) > [I write with a sense of my future readers being ever on the verge of setting down the book and pronouncing it a bore.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/i-write-with-a-sense-of-my-future-readers-being-ever-on-the-verge-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [National politics and elections are dominated by emotions, by lack of self-confidence, by fear of the other, by insecurity, by infection of the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/national-politics-and-elections-are-dominated-by-emotions-by-lack-of/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [“Night will always be a time of fear and insecurity, and the heart will sink with the sun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/night-will-always-be-a-time-of-fear-and-insecurity-and-the-heart-will/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Western media only intensified the climate of fear and insecurity...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-ahmadinejad/western-media-only-intensified-the-climate-of-fear-and-insecurity/) [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-ahmadinejad/) > [Most men are very attached to the idea of being male, and usually experience a lot of fear and insecurity around the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cohen/most-men-are-very-attached-to-the-idea-of-being-male-and-usually/) [Andrew Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cohen/) > [The quickest way to defuse fear or insecurity or anger is usually humor. I think comics figure that out quickly, and, once you figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-gardell/the-quickest-way-to-defuse-fear-or-insecurity-or-anger-is-usually/) [Billy Gardell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-gardell/) ## More by Jonathan Tropper > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“Phillip, who is congenitally incapable of moderation,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/phillip-who-is-congenitally-incapable-of-moderation/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“There's always a last time. If you could remember every last time, you'd never stop grieving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/there-s-always-a-last-time-if-you-could-remember-every-last-time-you/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“In my family, we don’t so much air our grievances as wallow in them. Anger and resentment are cumulative.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/in-my-family-we-don-t-so-much-air-our-grievances-as-wallow-in-them/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“Do I really look so pathetic to all of you? Like I couldn't possibly meet someone on my own? Half the people in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/do-i-really-look-so-pathetic-to-all-of-you-like-i-couldn-t-possibly/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [I still enjoy the tactile sensation of holding a book. But when I need to read fast for work, I use the Kindle App…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/i-still-enjoy-the-tactile-sensation-of-holding-a-book-but-when-i-need/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“Being gay is like taking a crash course in human nature,” he says. “Your first real glimpse at the dirty underbelly of routine social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/being-gay-is-like-taking-a-crash-course-in-human-nature-he-says-your/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“It's just hard to see people from your past when your present is so cataclysmically fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/it-s-just-hard-to-see-people-from-your-past-when-your-present-is-so/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [I occasionally experience the discomfort of people assuming my work is autobiographical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/i-occasionally-experience-the-discomfort-of-people-assuming-my-work/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“Few things are more pathetic than an unemployed man with a business card. P.15”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/few-things-are-more-pathetic-than-an-unemployed-man-with-a-business/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“We knew marriage could be difficult in the same way that we knew there were starving children in Africa. It was a tragic fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/we-knew-marriage-could-be-difficult-in-the-same-way-that-we-knew/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“attractive women in the early stages of disrepair, fighting to keep age at bay with facials, compression undergarments, and aggressively fashionable skirts bought off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/attractive-women-in-the-early-stages-of-disrepair-fighting-to-keep/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [As far as rapprochements go, it's awkward and vague, but the advantage of being as emotionally inarticulate as we are is that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/as-far-as-rapprochements-go-it-s-awkward-and-vague-but-the-advantage/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [I'm a big action junkie. I grew up on the '80s action movies - the bad ones and the good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/i-m-a-big-action-junkie-i-grew-up-on-the-80s-action-movies-the-bad/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“shudders and seems to sink a bit further. “And the contractor is running two other jobs in the neighborhood. The Jacobsons, he’s redoing their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/shudders-and-seems-to-sink-a-bit-further-and-the-contractor-is/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) [Explore all 222 Jonathan Tropper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) ## More Panic quotes > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [“Give me terror. Flash. Give me panic. Flash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/give-me-terror-flash-give-me-panic-flash/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“The obsession with the afterlife is born of a panic at not having memories of a before-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-obsession-with-the-afterlife-is-born-of-a-panic-at-not-having/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“She was—of course—perfectly normal— quiet and polite and reasonably intelligent and...normal and self destructive and lonely and terrified of every thing And she loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tah-the-trickster/she-was-of-course-perfectly-normal-quiet-and-polite-and-reasonably/) [Tah the Trickster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tah-the-trickster/) > [ As an actor, if you step to the side and you look at \[Thornton's performance\] technically, and you try to imagine doing what he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/as-an-actor-if-you-step-to-the-side-and-you-look-at-thornton-s/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [I think I'm prone to panic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/i-think-i-m-prone-to-panic/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Everything has got a place in my house. If something is moved I get a panic attack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rylan-clark-neal/everything-has-got-a-place-in-my-house-if-something-is-moved-i-get-a/) [Rylan Clark-Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rylan-clark-neal/) > [Leadership is the ability to hide your panic from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/leadership-is-the-ability-to-hide-your-panic-from-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was about to ask about it when Daniel flopped down on the mattress. He pulled off his shoes and went for the zipper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-despain/i-was-about-to-ask-about-it-when-daniel-flopped-down-on-the-mattress/) [Bree Despain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-despain/) > [“But all that talk. All those confidences. He shuddered to think about it. At the time, though, he didn't know any better, and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-dubois/but-all-that-talk-all-those-confidences-he-shuddered-to-think-about/) [Jennifer Dubois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-dubois/) > [I make a project and I panic. Which is good, it can be a method. First, panic. Second, conquer panic by working. Third, find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-souto-de-moura/i-make-a-project-and-i-panic-which-is-good-it-can-be-a-method-first/) [Eduardo Souto de Moura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-souto-de-moura/) > [So, that was Nature's way. The mosquito felt pain and panic but the dragonfly knew nothing of cruelty. Humans would call it evil, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marsden/so-that-was-nature-s-way-the-mosquito-felt-pain-and-panic-but-the/) [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) > [Don't panic and lose hope even if there's a mountain in your pathtalk to the One who created the mountains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-philips/don-t-panic-and-lose-hope-even-if-there-s-a-mountain-in-your-pathtalk/) [Bilal Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-philips/) > [“Wellesley women do not panic. We cope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wellesley-women-do-not-panic-we-cope/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,230 Panic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/panic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You remember the old Roadrunner cartoons, where the coyote would run off a cliff and keep going, until he looked down and happened to notice that he was running on nothing more than air?\" \"Yeah.\" \"Well,\" he said, \"I always used to wonder what would have happened if he'd never looked down. Would the air have stayed solid under his feet until he reached the other side? I think we're all like that. We start heading out across this canyon, looking straight ahead at the thing that matters, but something, some fear or insecurity, makes us look down. And we see we're walking on air, and we panic, and turn around and scramble like hell to get back to solid ground. 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