“There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming.”
- May 5, 1813 – November 11, 1855
- Danish
- Philosopher, Theologian, Poet, Father of Existentialism
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Quote
“There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming.”
Explanation
This quote underscores Kierkegaard’s insight into the fear of one’s own potential—the idea that the greatest source of anxiety is not failure, but the magnitude of responsibility and possibility that true selfhood entails. People often live in self-imposed limits not because they lack talent or opportunity, but because they are afraid of what it would mean to fully realize their potential. With great capability comes freedom, and with freedom comes the burden of choice, change, and accountability.
Kierkegaard, writing from the perspective of existential Christianity, believed that each individual is called not just to live, but to become—to answer the inner summons of conscience, passion, and God. But this calling is not comforting—it is unsettling, because it demands that we abandon comfort, confront fear, and pursue a path that often isolates us from the crowd. The self we could become may seem glorious, but it also demands sacrifice, integrity, and risk—all things that many instinctively resist.
In today’s world, the quote remains strikingly relevant. We are surrounded by messages of self-improvement and empowerment, yet many feel paralyzed or aimless. Kierkegaard helps explain why: to recognize one’s potential is to face the responsibility of living up to it, a task that can be frightening in its enormity. His challenge is clear: the fear of becoming should not hold us back, for in daring to become ourselves, we encounter not just our limits, but our deepest purpose.
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