“One cannot fight what one does not know.”

— Rollo May, The Meaning of Anxiety (1977)

About Rollo May

1909 – 1994

American existential psychologist, author of "Love and Will" and "The Courage to Create".

“Courage is the capacity to meet the anxiety which arises as one achieves freedom.”

“We are more apt to feel depressed by the perpetually smiling individual than the one who is honestly sad.”

“One does not become fully human painlessly.”

“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.”

“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.”

“Fear always springs from ignorance.”

“Anxiety strives to become fear, because fear can be met by courage.”

“Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry—all forms of fear—are caused by too much future, and not enough presence.”