Below are 25 favorite quotes from the book The Fearless Mind by Craig Manning, PhD. Don’t have a copy of the book? You can get one here: AMAZON
- “If we truly follow what we love and not what we like, what is safe and easy, or what someone else want’s us to do, we will have more passion and energy; we will achieve higher levels of performance; and we will find greater joy.” Pg 2
- “High performers never feel like they have arrived. There is always another level.” Pg 9
- “High performance is when those factors within our direct responsibility are being controlled and mastered—when we are completely at one with ourselves.” Pg 11
- “High performance is created. We have to want it; nobody can give it to us, and nobody can do it for us.” Pg 10
- “When we channel our energy in a deliberate way, it is possible to achieve almost anything.” Pg 14
- “We need emotions… A life without emotions is hard to contemplate… When our emotions are channeled in constructive ways, we become formidable at achieving whatever skill sets we focus on… Controlling our emotions perpetuates thinking and lessens worrying.” Pg 18,19
- “Just as it takes hard work and a lot of practice to develop the muscle memory to execute a certain skill, it takes hard work and a lot of practice to learn how to think in an effective, productive, fearless way.” Pg 20
- “It seems that a large majority of us settle because we are afraid of what the future holds. One subtle choice there or there can lead us down a path we never planned on taking. Unwittingly developing a fearful mind, we settle for what is safe and easy instead of pursuing our dreams.” Pg 24
- “At high levels of performance, one wrong thought can be very costly. That’s what it is so much fun: the challenge of performing a task so well we don’t know how we could do it better, the joy in testing our limits.” Pg 41
- “This path has no finish line. The focus is on the journey, on perpetually learning from each situation. The mind is fearless, freeing the individual’s potential.” Pg 46
- “Regarding pessimism, there is only one person who can stop us from obtaining our dreams, and that is ourself.” Pg 60
- “It takes work to get in the right mindset, but it takes work to maintain it as well. I wouldn’t say it is hard to achieve and maintain a fearless mind, but it does require constant attention to the reality of the moment.” Pg 66
- “When we sense a psychological threat, our minds overreact just as the body does with a sprained ankle. The only difference is, instead of a swollen ankle, we get swollen anxiety.” Pg 73
- “I have come to realize how important it is to discipline my mind—to pay attention to the moment and not worry about the past or the future, to really focus on what I am doing, not what I am doing wrong.” Pg 80
- “The biggest objective is to get better. Winning is great—we all want to win—but winning takes care of itself if we keep improving.” Pg 89
- “We need to learn to evaluate ourselves on those things over which we have control and responsibility… If we are giving it our absolute best, then we need to relax; that’s all we can expect of ourselves.” Pg 89-90
- “At the highest level of human performance, attention is almost always on what needs to be done, on what is relevant.” Pg 97
- “A fearless mind listens to criticism and then directs attention to what can be done or what needs to be done and does not open the door to self-doubt.” Pg 98
- “High-performing (individuals) are very disciplined at directing their attention to the task at hand and not feeding their own egos.” Pg 101
- “High performance is all about using the laws of nature to our advantage. It’s about putting the percentages in our favor. High performance is no about trying to be a superhero; it’s not attempting to defy the laws of nature.” Pg 118
- “Confidence can take an individual with nonexistent skill sets and make them respectable; ordinary skill sets and make them good; and incredible skill sets and make them great.” Pg 126
- “Only those willing to take risks learn new skill sets that can be the difference between being really good and being great.” Pg 135
- “Confidence can be very unstable; it cannot be maintained over long periods of time without making good decisions… confidence is dependent on good decision making… Good decision making, however, is not dependent on confidence.” Pg 137
- “I do believe high performance requires risk taking, but only at the right time and usually only when we have put the ground work in first.” Pg 147
- “There are many mental pathways to performance but only one pathway to high performance—the fearless path.” Pg 160
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