--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mama taught me that anything worth…" description: "\"My mama taught me that anything worth doing in life should be a little scary.\" — Terry McMillan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/terry-mcmillan-7261_anything-worth-doing_my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-do_239786.jpg" --- # My mama taught me that anything worth doing in life should… ![“My mama taught me that anything worth doing in life should be a little scary.” quote by Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/terry-mcmillan-7261_anything-worth-doing_my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-do_239786.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/terry-mcmillan-7261_anything-worth-doing_my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-do_239786.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/terry-mcmillan-7261_anything-worth-doing_my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-do_239786.jpg) > “My mama taught me that anything worth doing in life should be a little scary.” [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encouraging embracing challenges because they indicate growth, even if they feel frightening. **In simple terms:** Fear shows something matters. Key Takeaway Embrace fear as a sign of worthwhile pursuits. Themes growth courage learning Mood reflective inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - personal development - creative projects Key Concepts psychology risk‑taking Questions to Reflect On - What scares you most about your goals? - How can fear be reframed as motivation? A Different Perspective Fear can paralyze if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anything worth doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything-worth-doing/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Children must be taught that they are worth being heard, being saved and being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/children-must-be-taught-that-they-are-worth-being-heard-being-saved/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [“Mama taught me to be wary of handing him all my glory at once. He must also do some polishing of edges. Nooks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-mahfouz/mama-taught-me-to-be-wary-of-handing-him-all-my-glory-at-once-he-must/) Sabrina Mahfouz > [My own grandmother went to great lengths to make sure I knew simple things like how and when to open the door for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-dunn/my-own-grandmother-went-to-great-lengths-to-make-sure-i-knew-simple/) [Ronnie Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-dunn/) > [We had a black bear on the 'Hunger Games' set, and that was a little scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-hemsworth/we-had-a-black-bear-on-the-hunger-games-set-and-that-was-a-little/) [Liam Hemsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-hemsworth/) > [“It came as naturally to him as breathing or lying, or worse. His mama had only taught her son to be cautious at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-carnes/it-came-as-naturally-to-him-as-breathing-or-lying-or-worse-his-mama/) [V.S. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-carnes/) > [“My mama taught me the most important lesson of all: "Sometimes you don't know why things happen until later." She still gets me through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-megan-varnadore/my-mama-taught-me-the-most-important-lesson-of-all-sometimes-you-don/) [Jennifer Megan Varnadore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-megan-varnadore/) > [“mama taught me waste not want not. i try not to waste but i'll be damned if i don't want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-cutler/mama-taught-me-waste-not-want-not-i-try-not-to-waste-but-i-ll-be/) Amy Leigh Cutler > [I knew I had found my life's passion after writing my first column for The Washington Post. The response was like nothing we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-singletary/i-knew-i-had-found-my-life-s-passion-after-writing-my-first-column/) [Michelle Singletary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-singletary/) > [Mama always taught her children that words were pretty, but anyone can talk. She said, pay attention to that man or woman who acted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/mama-always-taught-her-children-that-words-were-pretty-but-anyone-can/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Mama, you taught me to do the right things / So now you have to let your baby fly / You've given me everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/mama-you-taught-me-to-do-the-right-things-so-now-you-have-to-let-your/) [Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/) > [“My fairy drag mother. The woman who had taught me to trust myself and my instincts. Morgan could teach me magic. My parents could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-klune/my-fairy-drag-mother-the-woman-who-had-taught-me-to-trust-myself-and/) [T.J. Klune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-klune/) > [The reason girls want a country boy is because they are the only ones who's mama's taught them how to treat a lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/obviously-me-p/the-reason-girls-want-a-country-boy-is-because-they-are-the-only-ones/) Obviously Me :p > [A hell raisin sugar when the sun goes down, mama taught her how to rip up a town.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-aldean/a-hell-raisin-sugar-when-the-sun-goes-down-mama-taught-her-how-to-rip/) [Jason Aldean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-aldean/) > [Of course mama has taught us all to use our manners. Though there are times that are appropriate for you to be impolite. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epifania-savea/of-course-mama-has-taught-us-all-to-use-our-manners-though-there-are/) [Epifania Savea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epifania-savea/) > [I stand here today as a strong woman because ma mama taught me never to give up. Thank you for being the best mum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine/i-stand-here-today-as-a-strong-woman-because-ma-mama-taught-me-never/) [Josephine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine/) ## More by Terry McMillan > [It should be obvious that I wasn't no honor roll student in high school. My favorite class was boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/it-should-be-obvious-that-i-wasn-t-no-honor-roll-student-in-high/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [The best rush in the world is getting something at 80 percent off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/the-best-rush-in-the-world-is-getting-something-at-80-percent-off/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I'm a fast writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-m-a-fast-writer/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [It's not that marriage itself is bad; it's the people we marry who give it a bad name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/it-s-not-that-marriage-itself-is-bad-it-s-the-people-we-marry-who/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [If you jump to conclusions, you make terrible landings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/if-you-jump-to-conclusions-you-make-terrible-landings/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I'm not an angry woman. I'm not bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-m-not-an-angry-woman-i-m-not-bitter/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [As far as young kids go, my primary interest is to get parents to read to their kids. That's about the most you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/as-far-as-young-kids-go-my-primary-interest-is-to-get-parents-to-read/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I would be content being a housewife if I could find the kind of man who wouldn't treat me like one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-would-be-content-being-a-housewife-if-i-could-find-the-kind-of-man/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I've got tons of irreplaceable information inside the soul of this computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-ve-got-tons-of-irreplaceable-information-inside-the-soul-of-this/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [It's sad to think that we've gotten to this, that we actually have to think about how to go about finding a man. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/it-s-sad-to-think-that-we-ve-gotten-to-this-that-we-actually-have-to/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [Cruising the Internet doesn't count as writing. Neither does answering e-mail. Before you check Twitter & FB and do other similar tasks that get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/cruising-the-internet-doesn-t-count-as-writing-neither-does-answering/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [“I had been on a whole lot of folks' prayer lists and God had known for years my address was still 111 Unlucky-in-LOve-Avenue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-had-been-on-a-whole-lot-of-folks-prayer-lists-and-god-had-known-for/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [“Yeah, well all I can say is that a half truth is a still a while lie, ain't it...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/yeah-well-all-i-can-say-is-that-a-half-truth-is-a-still-a-while-lie/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [We get divorce, we get conned, someone we love dies, or we can't find anybody to love us or somebody breaks our heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/we-get-divorce-we-get-conned-someone-we-love-dies-or-we-can-t-find/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I would like to think that as a result of not just my own experiences, but at least being empathetic and compassionate about other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-would-like-to-think-that-as-a-result-of-not-just-my-own-experiences/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) [Explore all 93 Terry McMillan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) ## More Anything worth doing quotes > [Anything worth doing is going to be difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fauja-singh/anything-worth-doing-is-going-to-be-difficult/) [Fauja Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fauja-singh/) > [Anything worth doing does not have to be done perfectly - at first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-blanchard/anything-worth-doing-does-not-have-to-be-done-perfectly-at-first/) [Ken Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-blanchard/) > [Anything worth doing hurts a little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/anything-worth-doing-hurts-a-little/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) > [I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come indirectly through accident, except the phonograph. No, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-never-did-anything-worth-doing-by-accident-nor-did-any-of-my/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [...why did Plato say that poets should be chased out of the republic? Precisely because every poet and every artist is an antisocial being.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/why-did-plato-say-that-poets-should-be-chased-out-of-the-republic/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [We believed anything worth doing was worth over-doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/we-believed-anything-worth-doing-was-worth-over-doing/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) > [Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/anything-worth-doing-is-worth-doing-poorly-at-first/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Love is the only path to anything worth doing, creating or pursuing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/love-is-the-only-path-to-anything-worth-doing-creating-or-pursuing/) [Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/) > [Anything worth doing, is worth doing all the way. Just know you'll have to live with all the choices that you make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/anything-worth-doing-is-worth-doing-all-the-way-just-know-you-ll-have/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [Anything worth doing in this world is incredibly difficult to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/anything-worth-doing-in-this-world-is-incredibly-difficult-to-do/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [No one ever did anything worth doing unless they were prepared to go on with it long after it became something of a bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-v-steere/no-one-ever-did-anything-worth-doing-unless-they-were-prepared-to-go/) [Douglas V. Steere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-v-steere/) > [Anything worth doing always starts as a bad idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/anything-worth-doing-always-starts-as-a-bad-idea/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [Take big bites. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/take-big-bites-anything-worth-doing-is-worth-overdoing/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing. Moderation is for cowards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seal/anything-in-life-worth-doing-is-worth-overdoing-moderation-is-for/) [Seal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seal/) > [Don't let the low standards and expectations of the world and others cause you to aim beneath your nobility and ability-dream big! What I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-s-dalton/don-t-let-the-low-standards-and-expectations-of-the-world-and-others/) [Elaine S. Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-s-dalton/) [Browse all 38 Anything worth doing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything-worth-doing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My mama taught me that anything worth doing in life should be a little scary.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terry McMillan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-doing-in-life-should-be-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anything worth doing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-doing-in-life-should-be-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/terry-mcmillan-7261_anything-worth-doing_my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-do_239786.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/terry-mcmillan-7261_anything-worth-doing_my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-do_239786.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/terry-mcmillan-7261_anything-worth-doing_my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-do_239786.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My mama taught me that anything worth doing in life should be a little scary.” — Terry McMillan", "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": "Terry McMillan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My mama taught me that anything...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-doing-in-life-should-be-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-doing-in-life-should-be-a/#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 } } ] } ```