Skip to content

Defeat Quote by Kobo Abe

“Defeat begins with the fear that one has lost.” quote by Kobo Abe — Download Open image

“Defeat begins with the fear that one has lost.”

About This Quote

Defeat starts when we accept loss before trying.

In simple terms: Fear of loss can cause defeat.

Key Takeaway

Challenge fear before it defeats you.

Themes

psychology confidence failure

Mood

cautious encouraging

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

sports
business
personal projects

Key Concepts

self‑fulfilling prophecy mindset

Questions to Reflect On

What fear holds you back?
How can you reframe potential loss?

A Different Perspective

May overlook external factors.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 2.7 out of 5 (10 ratings)

Begins Fear Defeat Defeat Begins Failure Fear Fear Lost Lost

More by Kobo Abe

“People like me who lack something are liable to become spiteful critics.”

Image

“I rather think the world is like sand. The fundamental nature of sand is very difficult to grasp when you think of it in…

Image

“Injuries to the body, especially the face, are not treated simply as problems of form. We should rather speak of themas belonging in the…

Image

“What we mean when we say "terrible conditions" is conditions which we are aware of as being terrible.”

Image

“He wanted to believe that his own lack of movement had stopped all movement in the world, the way a hibernating frog abolishes winter.”

Image

“One could not do without repetition in life, like the beating of the heart, but it was also true that the beating of the…

Image

“It is manifestly pregnant and has a bulging white belly heavy with its load of kittens.”

Image

Many people ask why a writer commits suicide. But I think that people who ask don't know the vanity and the nothingness of writing.…

Image

“Being free always involves being lonely.”

Image

“Everyone has his own philosophy that doesn't hold good for anybody else.”

Image

“It would seem that marsupials are poor imitations of full-fledged mammals. Their inadequacy gives them a certain appeal; we’re touched by it.”

Image

“The suffering of being imprisoned rests in the fact that it is impossible, at any time, to escape from oneself.”

Image

Explore all 67 Kobo Abe quotes

More Defeat quotes

A poor self-image is the magnifying glass that can transform a trivial mistake or an imperfection into an overwhelming symbol of personal defeat.

Image

Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…

Image

The devil has been defeated, stop trying to defeat him. What we have left is the fight of faith, and it's a good fight!

Chris Oyakhilome

Image

If Pete’s (Sampras) child is a girl, my son will like her; if he’s a boy, my son will defeat him.

Image

All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.

Image

Defeat furnishes good material to the poets and the artists, but none of us care to have the glory of the conquered apply to…

Image

“We don't have to defeat any individual but our own self.”

Image

“Defeat is a disease, and victory is the cure.”

Image

“The glow of victory and the harsh chill of defeat are two sides of the same coin.”

Maria Lenartowicz

Image

After a big defeat, any player feels affected - it is about how long he needs to recover.

Gerardo Martino

Image

I have clearly said we faced terrorist enemies who use Islam to justify slaughtering innocent people and we have to stop them and we…

Hillary Clinton

Image

We know from this book entitled... What is it? Surrendered? Succumbed? I can never remember the title perform. And we learn from this book…

Image

Browse all 2,603 Defeat quotes