“Be not afraid of life. Believe…” — William James

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

— William James (1842–1910), The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897), "Is Life Worth Living?"

Courage and overcoming setbacks

What it means

Believing that life is worth living helps make it so. James suggests our convictions can shape the reality we experience.

William James — American philosopher and psychologist (1842–1910).

Source: The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897), "Is Life Worth Living?"
Reference: William James on Wikiquote
Checked: Wording and source taken from the sourced section of the author’s Wikiquote page, which cites the work given here (accessed 2026-10-11).
Copyright: Public domain: the author died in 1910.

The explanation above is ToDoMatriX’s own reading of the quote, not the author’s words.

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