--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have to be easily scared to know what…" description: "\"You have to be easily scared to know what it's like to be scared.\" — Mary Downing Hahn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93d/mary-downing-hahn-23586_easily_you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-wha_2960382.jpg" --- # You have to be easily scared to know what it's like to be… ![“You have to be easily scared to know what it's like to be scared.” quote by Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93d/mary-downing-hahn-23586_easily_you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-wha_2960382.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93d/mary-downing-hahn-23586_easily_you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-wha_2960382.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93d/mary-downing-hahn-23586_easily_you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-wha_2960382.jpg) > “You have to be easily scared to know what it's like to be scared.” [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being easily scared is necessary to truly understand fear, implying empathy through personal experience. **In simple terms:** Fear requires personal experience. Key Takeaway Face fear to understand it. Themes fear empathy self‑awareness Mood introspective serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - horror movies - public speaking - dangerous tasks - self‑challenge Key Concepts psychology literature personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What scares you most? - How can you confront it safely? A Different Perspective Some avoid fear altogether. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“But I am scared. Everybody's scared." "You know what I mean, like scared scared. Like coward scared, like if you never went to begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/but-i-am-scared-everybody-s-scared-you-know-what-i-mean-like-scared/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [I've come to the conclusion that you can't write scary books unless you're easily scared yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/i-ve-come-to-the-conclusion-that-you-can-t-write-scary-books-unless/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [I can't watch horror films because I am easily scared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-bo-young/i-can-t-watch-horror-films-because-i-am-easily-scared/) [Park Bo-young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-bo-young/) > [I've always been a horror movie fan, since I was a kid. And I was also a really scared kid. I was easily scared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-ve-always-been-a-horror-movie-fan-since-i-was-a-kid-and-i-was-also/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I'm not easily scared; from the age of 8, I learned what it means to have everything you know taken away and what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilhan-omar/i-m-not-easily-scared-from-the-age-of-8-i-learned-what-it-means-to/) [Ilhan Omar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilhan-omar/) > [I'm scared of what I won't become, you're scared of what I will become. I know what is within me, even if you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendall-fithian/i-m-scared-of-what-i-won-t-become-you-re-scared-of-what-i-will-become/) [Kendall Fithian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendall-fithian/) > [I was scared. Do you know what it's like to hold someone else's life in your hands? It's like playing God. Can you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/i-was-scared-do-you-know-what-it-s-like-to-hold-someone-else-s-life/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) > [“I'm just like you. I'm scared and I'm angry and I'm confused and I don't know what the hell I'm going to do, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-m-just-like-you-i-m-scared-and-i-m-angry-and-i-m-confused-and-i-don/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [Its like were scared to lose what we dont even really have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-like-were-scared-to-lose-what-we-dont-even-really-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just really am trying, trying, all the time. But I like to be scared. I love to suddenly feel out of control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/i-just-really-am-trying-trying-all-the-time-but-i-like-to-be-scared-i/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [Let me tell ya something Coach, this is the thing. I don't usually admit stuff like this, but I'm scared of Kane tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/triple-h/let-me-tell-ya-something-coach-this-is-the-thing-i-don-t-usually/) [Triple H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/triple-h/) > [Sometimes men are scared of me. You know, you become kind of an icon on television, and people are a little bit unsure, careful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mischa-barton/sometimes-men-are-scared-of-me-you-know-you-become-kind-of-an-icon-on/) [Mischa Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mischa-barton/) > [Kevin Muscat scared me. You know, people would say 'I'm going to break your legs' - when he would say it, you genuinely believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-crouch/kevin-muscat-scared-me-you-know-people-would-say-i-m-going-to-break/) [Peter Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-crouch/) > [“I try not to be scared, you know. But I still ruin everything. I still fuck up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-try-not-to-be-scared-you-know-but-i-still-ruin-everything-i-still/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [It's a stupid feeling when you ask a simple question and yet your heart is damn too scared to know the answer..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-a-stupid-feeling-when-you-ask-a-simple-question-and-yet-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Mary Downing Hahn > [Odd, isn’t it? You know when your birthday is, but not your death day, even though you pass the date year after year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/odd-isn-t-it-you-know-when-your-birthday-is-but-not-your-death-day/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [here, there, and everywhere"-an opinionated riddle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/here-there-and-everywhere-an-opinionated-riddle/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [I think more people now have relationships with agents than with editors. And I don't have an agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/i-think-more-people-now-have-relationships-with-agents-than-with/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [I never thought that people my own age could die, let alone be murdered. Things like that didn't happen in 1955. The suburbs were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/i-never-thought-that-people-my-own-age-could-die-let-alone-be/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [I was a coward. I'm still such a coward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/i-was-a-coward-i-m-still-such-a-coward/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [I've come to the conclusion that you can't write scary books unless you're easily scared yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/i-ve-come-to-the-conclusion-that-you-can-t-write-scary-books-unless/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [I wished that the chains would break and the wind would sweep me up, up, up into the sky, beyond the clouds, beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/i-wished-that-the-chains-would-break-and-the-wind-would-sweep-me-up/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [“Stu asked me to marry him”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/stu-asked-me-to-marry-him/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [They always talk about teenagers thinking their lives will never end. I expected my life to end at any minute, every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/they-always-talk-about-teenagers-thinking-their-lives-will-never-end/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [I don't feel like writing any more ghost stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/i-don-t-feel-like-writing-any-more-ghost-stories/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [I think it's dead bodies that really haunt me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/i-think-it-s-dead-bodies-that-really-haunt-me/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [“WHEN YOU'RE READING YOU SHOULD PRETEND YOU'RE REALLY THERE BECAUSE IT WILL MAKE THE BOOK MOR INTERESTING!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/when-you-re-reading-you-should-pretend-you-re-really-there-because-it/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [There are a lot of reasons to doubt things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/there-are-a-lot-of-reasons-to-doubt-things/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [You look back on some little decision you made and realize all the things that happened because of it, and you think to yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/you-look-back-on-some-little-decision-you-made-and-realize-all-the/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [“As she said, our talents made us different from other people, but not strange.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/as-she-said-our-talents-made-us-different-from-other-people-but-not/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) [Explore all 25 Mary Downing Hahn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) ## More Easily quotes > [I can occupy myself quite easily with what's going on inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-rampling/i-can-occupy-myself-quite-easily-with-what-s-going-on-inside-me/) [Charlotte Rampling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-rampling/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [I don't fall in love easily. It's odd; one of the first things I think about when I go out with a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-dillon/i-don-t-fall-in-love-easily-it-s-odd-one-of-the-first-things-i-think/) [Matt Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-dillon/) > [I don't scare very easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-the-drag-queen/i-don-t-scare-very-easily/) [Bob the Drag Queen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-the-drag-queen/) > [Success not like speech of church. which you get easily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/success-not-like-speech-of-church-which-you-get-easily/) Mak\_786 > [As all of us are only too aware, the loud and frantic voices of the outer world easily drown out the small, still loving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/as-all-of-us-are-only-too-aware-the-loud-and-frantic-voices-of-the/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I can easily cut 10 to 15 pounds without feeling like I'm killing myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-jedrzejczyk/i-can-easily-cut-10-to-15-pounds-without-feeling-like-i-m-killing/) [Joanna Jedrzejczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-jedrzejczyk/) > [I typically don't get out of shape that easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-covington/i-typically-don-t-get-out-of-shape-that-easily/) [Robert Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-covington/) > [nothing makes one so easily a fatalist as indifference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-thompson/nothing-makes-one-so-easily-a-fatalist-as-indifference/) [Sylvia Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-thompson/) > [I'm a huge Joe Nichols fan, and he put this song out an album called 'Real Things.' I was excited for Joe when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-shelton/i-m-a-huge-joe-nichols-fan-and-he-put-this-song-out-an-album-called/) [Blake Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-shelton/) > [The thing one most tries to hide is the one most easily seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ichabod-crane/the-thing-one-most-tries-to-hide-is-the-one-most-easily-seen/) Ichabod Crane > [I get startled really easily, so I hate horror films. I have to close my eyes when I think something is going to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-lezark/i-get-startled-really-easily-so-i-hate-horror-films-i-have-to-close/) [Leigh Lezark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-lezark/) > [I can easily eat 15-20 dosas or idlis at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prabhu-deva/i-can-easily-eat-15-20-dosas-or-idlis-at-a-time/) [Prabhu Deva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prabhu-deva/) > [Often, equipment can as easily function as a security blanket for musicians unwilling or unable to risk anything personal in the studio. Whether one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-landau/often-equipment-can-as-easily-function-as-a-security-blanket-for/) [Jon Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-landau/) > [I'd always really wanted to act; but the modelling contracts came more easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-dornan/i-d-always-really-wanted-to-act-but-the-modelling-contracts-came-more/) [Jamie Dornan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-dornan/) Browse all 842 Easily quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You have to be easily scared to know what it's like to be scared.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Downing Hahn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-what-it-s-like-to-be-scared/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Easily" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-what-it-s-like-to-be-scared/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93d/mary-downing-hahn-23586_easily_you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-wha_2960382.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93d/mary-downing-hahn-23586_easily_you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-wha_2960382.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93d/mary-downing-hahn-23586_easily_you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-wha_2960382.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You have to be easily scared to know what it's like to be scared.” — Mary Downing Hahn", "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": "Mary Downing Hahn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You have to be easily scared...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-what-it-s-like-to-be-scared/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-what-it-s-like-to-be-scared/#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 } } ] } ```