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Someone asked the Swiss physician & author Paul Tournier how he helped his patients get rid of their fears. He replied, 'I don't. Everything that's worthwhile in life is scary. Choosing a school, choosing a career, getting married, having kids--all those things are scary. If it is not fearful, it is not worthwhile.'
Philip Yancey
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Embracing fear is essential for meaningful experiences in life.

This quote highlights the idea that many significant life choices come with fear and uncertainty. It suggests that confronting and accepting these fears is a crucial part of pursuing meaningful experiences, as the most worthwhile endeavors often involve risk and challenge.

Themes

FearLife ChoicesMeaningful ExperiencesCourageRisk

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about overcoming fears in career choices.

More from Philip Yancey

The proof of spiritual maturity is not how pure you are but awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to grace.
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If my activism, however well-motivated, drives out love, then I have misunderstood Jesus’ gospel. I am stuck with law, not the gospel of grace.
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In the stories of extravagant grace given to us by Jesus, there are no loopholes disqualifying us from God's love.
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Parents learn the uses of power and its limits. They can insist on certain outward behavior but cannot change inner attitudes. They can require obedience but not goodness - and certainly not love.
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Prayer is to the skeptic a delusion, a waste of time. To the believer it represents perhaps the most important use of time.
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We grow up hungry for love, and in ways so deep as to remain unexpressed we long for our Maker to love us.
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