Only the unknown frightens men. But once a man has faced the unknown, that terror becomes the known. (Antoine De Saint-Exupery, 1900-1944 French Aviator Writer)

We can only fear what we do not understand. (Dean Fraser)

We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them. (Titus Livy, BC 59-17 AD Roman Historian)

Most fears cannot withstand the test of careful scrutiny and analysis. When we expose our fears to the light of thoughtful examination they usually just evaporate. (Jack Canfield, American Motivational Speaker Author Trainer)

There is great beauty in going through life without anxiety or fear. Half our fears are baseless, and the other half discreditable. (Christian Nevell Bovee, 1820-1904 American Author Lawyer)

In morals what begins in fear usually ends in wickedness; in religion what begins in fear usually ends in fanaticism. Fear, either as a principle or a motive, is the beginning of all evil. (Anna Jameson, 1794-1860 British Essayist)

Where fear is present, wisdom cannot be. (Lucius C. Lactantius, 260-340 Latin Author Apologist)

Where the fear is, happiness is not. (Seneca, 4 BC-65 AD Spanish-born Roman Statesman philosopher)

If you are not concerned about the outcome of a circumstance, you will experience no fear. Whatever the outcome will be, will be, whether you fear it or not. (Ching Ning Chu, Chinese-American Businesswoman Lecturer Author)

A man's doubts and fears are his worst enemies. (William Wrigley Jr, 1861-1932 American Businessman Founder of Wrigley and Co)

Indecision is the seedling of fear. (Napoleon Hill, 1883-1970 American Speaker Motivational Writer Think and Grow Rich)

Strength is a matter of a made up mind. (John Beecher, American Poet)

It is only ever fear that makes a person quit. (Dean Fraser)

People who have great amounts of fear waste a lot of energy. They repeat the same mistakes over and over again, and tend to see the world in black and white terms. They will see themselves as perfect or they will see themselves as worthless. The fearful person moves away from their core self, living life in numbness. They let other people dictate their life roles, and carry great despair in the center of their being. They are only half-alive. It is fear that keeps us from leading meaningful and fulfilling lives, so the main work in our lives is confronting these fears and releasing and healing them. (Dr. Paula Sunray)

The yielding of the weak is the concession to fear. (Edmund Burke, 1729-1797 British Political Writer Statesman)

Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world. (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882 American Poet Essayist)

The greatest weakness of all is the great fear of appearing weak. (Jacques BeNigne Bossuet, 1627-1704 Catholic Churchman Pulpit Orator)

You can't be a winner and be afraid to lose. (Charles A. Lynch)

We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality. (Seneca, 4 BC-65 AD Spanish-born Roman Statesman philosopher)

Fear can supplant our real problems only to the extent - unwilling either to assimilate or to exhaust it - we perpetuate it within ourselves like a temptation and enthrone it at the very heart of our solitude. (E. M. Cioran, 1911 Rumanian-born French Philosopher)

The fear of being wrong is the prime inhibitor of the creative process. (Jean Bryant)

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. (Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970 British Philosopher Mathematician Essayist)

Fear is an interesting emotion and comes from a series of thoughts. These thoughts are expressed and form a picture of what you don't want to happen. The ideal is to focus on what you do want to happen. Whatever you focus on, you move towards. Just because you have a series of thoughts that create an emotion does not mean that you can't act. The emotion is independent of the ability to act. Here are some physical examples that illustrate the possibilities.

If you look at the pattern of thoughts that precede the emotion you will see that your focus is on what you do not wish to happen. There is a direct correlation between the amount of thought you give in this direction to the power of your fear. Of course there are other factors that complicate this illustration. You may have had a prior negative experience which usually increases your fear. I know if you look closely you will find the same pattern of thoughts that lead to the emotion of fear.

A thought or series of thoughts have as much power over you as you give them. Here are some common but more intangible ways fear manifests and stops you moving ahead and into your goals.

Responsibility means to have control or authority over something. In relation to your life you must realize that you are responsible for your actions. You are the agent and the cause of everything that happens to you. You are in control.

The fear enters when you think in terms of good and bad, instead of cause and effect. Thinking in terms of good and bad is the way you are conditioned. You must realize that no person is in a position to judge you. If you take an action it has a consequence. If you make a mistake this does not mean you are bad. It means that you have made a mistake. If you want a different result then do something different next time. With the help of mistakes you learn, those of you who can walk, actually learnt this through a series of mistakes.

To be accountable means that you are answerable to someone or something. We are answerable to ourselves. I don't mean to the self that manifests as your ego. I mean to yourself that is the true being hidden behind the ego. This is the part of you that wants you to be the best you can be, it wills you to strive for excellence. To be accountable to your true self is difficult because your ego is tasked with the job of keeping this true self from you so that you are protected from certain things such as emotional pain.

The fear comes from the fact that to be accountable to yourself you often have to venture a path that is apart from the crowd. This requires your individual idea's and desires to manifest. You may have been punished or ridiculed for either your mistakes or your idea's by others. This leads to conditioning that chains you to someone else's pattern of thought.

Fear of success is prevalent and is often linked to self esteem and responsibility. You may not think you are worthy of success. You may believe that you are worth much less than someone else and therefore are not deserving of success. Realize that you are equal as a human being with the rest of humanity and that no one person is any better or worse than you. You have your own set of challenges to work through. You are just as deserving of success as anyone else. What judgment have you made that limit your own self esteem. Are you happy with yourself can you look yourself in the eye via a mirror and love yourself.

When success comes we move from an old pattern that has held us back, to a new pattern. This can create emotional turbulence in the lives of those around us. It is important that you understand that you don't have to hold yourself back to protect the self esteem of others.

Many of these expressions of fear are closely intertwined and indistinguishable from one another. It is important that you concentrate on what you want, not what you don't want. Realize that thoughts create their power over you through your emotions. Your power comes through awareness of the process and observation of the hold that is over you. Awareness brings what is hidden into the light. The light shows you that you can be in control. (Aymen Fares) - www.spiritual.com.au

Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks. Yet most people don't. They sit in front of the telly and treat life as if it goes on forever. (Philip Adams)

Fear is an insidious virus. Given a breeding place in our minds it will eat away our spirit and block the forward path of our endeavors. (James F. Bell)

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering... (Yoda)

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

Fear grows out of the things we think; it lives in our minds. Compassion grows out of the things we are, and lives in our hearts. (Barbara Garrison)

We all know people who are so much afraid of pain that they shut themselves up like clams in a shell and, giving out nothing, receive nothing and therefore shrink until life is a mere living death. (Eleanor Roosevelt)