--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing is - fear can't hurt you any…" description: "\"The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream.\" — William Golding" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/william-golding-1233_dream_the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-mor_2400041.png" --- # The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream. ![“The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream.” quote by William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/william-golding-1233_dream_the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-mor_2400041.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/william-golding-1233_dream_the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-mor_2400041.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/william-golding-1233_dream_the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-mor_2400041.png) > “The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream.” [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear is as intangible as a dream; it cannot harm unless we give it power. **In simple terms:** Fear only hurts if we let it. Key Takeaway Limit fear by treating it like a fleeting dream. Themes courage psychology control illusion self‑mastery Mood determined serious thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - personal anxiety - decision making - risk assessment Key Concepts cognitive psychology philosophy literary metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What fears do you treat as harmless? - How can you test if a fear is realistic? 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Golding" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-more-than-a-dream/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dream" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-more-than-a-dream/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/william-golding-1233_dream_the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-mor_2400041.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/william-golding-1233_dream_the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-mor_2400041.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/william-golding-1233_dream_the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-mor_2400041.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a dream.” — William Golding", "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": "William Golding", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The thing is - fear can't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-more-than-a-dream/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/the-thing-is-fear-can-t-hurt-you-any-more-than-a-dream/#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 } } ] } ```