--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When night comes and no one is watching…" description: "\"“When night comes and no one is watching, I feel afraid of everything: life, death, love or the lack of it; the fact that all novelties quickly become ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/paulo-coelho-10_anxiety_when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching_1181891.jpg" --- # When night comes and no one is watching, I feel afraid of… ![“When night comes and no one is watching, I feel afraid of everything: life, death, love or the lack of it; the fact that all novelties quickly become habits; the feeling that I'm wasting the best years of my life in a pattern that will be repeated over and over until I die; and sheer panic at…” quote by Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/paulo-coelho-10_anxiety_when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching_1181891.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/paulo-coelho-10_anxiety_when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching_1181891.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/paulo-coelho-10_anxiety_when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching_1181891.jpg) > ““When night comes and no one is watching, I feel afraid of everything: life, death, love or the lack of it; the fact that all novelties quickly become habits; the feeling that I'm wasting the best years of my life in a pattern that will be repeated over and over until I die; and sheer panic at facing the unknown, however exciting and adventurous that might be.”” [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker fears the darkness of solitude, confronting mortality, love, routine, and the endless repetition of life, leading to panic about the unknown. **In simple terms:** Fear of emptiness and routine in solitude. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and seek purposeful action. Themes fear existential routine loneliness mortality Mood anxious contemplative hopeful Type philosophical introspective motivational When to use this quote - midnight reflection - creative writing - therapy sessions - career crossroads - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism psychology meaning-making Questions to Reflect On - What does the unknown represent for you? - How can you turn routine into meaning? A Different Perspective Even in darkness, small purposeful acts can break the cycle. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Panic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/panic/) ## Related quotes > [When life gives you something that makes you feel afraid, that's when life gives you a chance to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupytha-hermin/when-life-gives-you-something-that-makes-you-feel-afraid-that-s-when/) Lupytha Hermin > [If you want to control someone, all you have to do is to make them feel afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/if-you-want-to-control-someone-all-you-have-to-do-is-to-make-them/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Fear again. If you want to control someone, all you have to do is to make them feel afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/fear-again-if-you-want-to-control-someone-all-you-have-to-do-is-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [No one should feel afraid of the unknown. Because everyone is capable of achieving everything he wants and needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/no-one-should-feel-afraid-of-the-unknown-because-everyone-is-capable/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I should tell you how I really feel, but I'm afraid of what you might say no...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-should-tell-you-how-i-really-feel-but-i-m-afraid-of-what-you-might/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I used to feel afraid of the future, always assuming the worst. But now I've realized that my worst fears have already happened, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berrien/i-used-to-feel-afraid-of-the-future-always-assuming-the-worst-but-now/) [Elizabeth Berrien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berrien/) > [“Despite my struggle to focus, I did hear him say this: “The only thing I’m afraid of is a life without you, Pigeon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/despite-my-struggle-to-focus-i-did-hear-him-say-this-the-only-thing-i/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [one should be afraid of life, not of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/one-should-be-afraid-of-life-not-of-death/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [“I'm not afraid of death…I'm afraid of life without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-woon/i-m-not-afraid-of-death-i-m-afraid-of-life-without-you/) [Yvonne Woon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-woon/) > [Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-be-afraid-your-life-will-end-be-afraid-that-it-will-never-begin/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have been afraid all my life that I am going to die. All my life it has been stuffed in my imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-duke/i-have-been-afraid-all-my-life-that-i-am-going-to-die-all-my-life-it/) [Patty Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-duke/) > [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 > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Paulo Coelho > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Love will never separate a man from his personal legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/love-will-never-separate-a-man-from-his-personal-legend/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/to-love-is-to-be-in-communion-with-the-other-and-to-discover-in-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Eat when it is time to eat. And walk when it is time to walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/eat-when-it-is-time-to-eat-and-walk-when-it-is-time-to-walk/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Joy is like sex – it begins and ends. I want pleasure. I want to be contended, but happiness? I no longer fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/joy-is-like-sex-it-begins-and-ends-i-want-pleasure-i-want-to-be/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Trudi se da zivis, sjecanja su za starije ljude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/trudi-se-da-zivis-sjecanja-su-za-starije-ljude/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-someone-leaves-it-s-because-someone-else-is-about-to-arrive/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [She didn't need to understand the meaning of life; it was enough to find someone who did, and then fall asleep in his arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/she-didn-t-need-to-understand-the-meaning-of-life-it-was-enough-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The simpler the pose, the better; the more sober, the more beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-simpler-the-pose-the-better-the-more-sober-the-more-beautiful/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Explore all 3,665 Paulo Coelho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## 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": "“When night comes and no one is watching, I feel afraid of everything: life, death, love or the lack of it; the fact that all novelties quickly become habits; the feeling that I'm wasting the best years of my life in a pattern that will be repeated over and over until I die; and sheer panic at facing the unknown, however exciting and adventurous that might be.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paulo Coelho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching-i-feel-afraid-of-everything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afraid" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching-i-feel-afraid-of-everything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/paulo-coelho-10_anxiety_when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching_1181891.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/paulo-coelho-10_anxiety_when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching_1181891.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/671/paulo-coelho-10_anxiety_when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching_1181891.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When night comes and no one is watching, I feel afraid of everything: life, death, love or the lack of it…” — Paulo Coelho", "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": "Paulo Coelho", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When night comes and no one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching-i-feel-afraid-of-everything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-night-comes-and-no-one-is-watching-i-feel-afraid-of-everything/#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 } } ] } ```