Change scares people. Makes them dangerous.

Change threatens, and its possibility creates frightened, angry people. They are found in their purest essence on the extreme right, but in all of us there is some fear of process, of change.

But fear of making mistakes can itself become a huge mistake, one that prevents you from living, for life is risky and anything less is already a loss.

Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities. The idea that you can do anything is absolutely terrifying.

There’s a certain comfort that comes with knowing how you fit in the world. Anything that shakes up that comfort — even if it could potentially make your life better — is inherently scary.

Any change in routine was terrifying, even if it involved less violence rather than more.

When it comes to changing your life, if you’re not scared, you’re doing something wrong.

Ian pretended that not knowing what to do was the hard part when, somewhere inside, I think he knew that making a choice about something is when the real uncertainty begins. The more terrifying uncertainty is wanting something and not knowing how to get it. It is working toward something even though there is no sure thing. When we make choices, we open ourselves up to hard work and failure and heartbreak, so sometimes it feels easier not to know, not to choose, and not to do.

The only thing more dangerous than an idea is a belief. And by dangerous I don't mean thought-provoking. I mean: might get people killed.

Ian pretended that not knowing what to do was the hard part when, somewhere inside, I think he knew that making a choice about something is when the real uncertainty begins. The more terrifying uncertainty is wanting something but not knowing how to get it. It is working toward something even though there is no sure thing. When we make choices, we open ourselves up to hard work and failure and heartbreak, so sometimes it feels easier not to know, not to choose, and not to do.

The risk of making a decision that's wrong is so enormous that sometimes it just crushes people so that they can't make any decision at all because they're afraid of making the wrong decision. And that's exactly what McClellan's problem was.

Most people fear change because change brings challenges and challenges bring discomfort. People don't like discomfort, because they are attached to the way things are. Comfort is addictive. It leads to laziness and inaction. It slowly dulls the spirit. It makes us stop growing. Change may bring challenges, but with every challenge comes an opportunity to grow and evolve.

Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have.

Loneliness, insomnia, and change: the fear of these is even worse than the reality.