Find summary, factcheck, context, and usage of quote-Fear is contagious, but so is courage.
It’s a simple truth, but one that changes everything once you really see it in action. It’s the secret to shifting any team’s energy.
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Meaning
This is about emotional leadership. It means you’re never just a passive bystander to the mood in a room, you’re actively spreading one of two things, fear or courage, with every single word and action.
Explanation
In boardrooms, in startups, even in family meetings. Fear spreads like a virus, One person hesitates, voices a doubt, and suddenly the whole room is infected with anxiety. It’s a real thing. But here’s the part most people miss. Courage works exactly the same way. One person takes a brave stand, makes a tough call with conviction, and it gives everyone else permission to be brave too. It’s a psychological domino effect. Your energy isn’t just your own, it’s your most powerful tool for shaping your environment.
Summary
| Category | Emotion (14) |
|---|---|
| Topics | courage (16), fear (9), resilience (14) |
| Style | poetic (32), succinct (7) |
| Mood | empowering (15), uplifting (11) |
Origin & Factcheck
| Author | Sanjiv Chopra (9) |
|---|---|
| Book | Doctor Chopra Says: Medical Facts and Myths Everyone Should Know (9) |
About the Author
Dr. Sanjiv Chopra professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He writes and speaks on wellness, purpose, longevity, and leadership.
| Official Website | Facebook | X| Instagram
Quotation Source:
| Fear is contagious, but so is courage |
| Publication Year: 2010; ISBN: 978-0312611742; Last Edition: 1st Edition; Number of Pages: 304. |
| Chapter 11: The Mind-Body Connection, Approximate page from 2010 edition |
Context
In the book, they’re talking about this in a health context, how a doctor’s calm confidence can be as therapeutic as medicine for a patient. But honestly, the principle is universal. It applies just as much to a project manager leading a team through a crisis as it does to a doctor in an exam room.
Usage Examples
- For Leaders & Managers: When a project is going sideways, don’t lead with the panic. Acknowledge the challenge, but immediately pivot to a calm, Okay, here’s how we tackle this attitude. You’re not ignoring the problem, you’re inoculating the team against the fear of it.
- For Parents & Mentors: Kids and mentors are hyper-sensitive to your emotional state. When they’re facing something scary, your steady, believing-in-them presence is the courage they catch. Your calm becomes their calm.
- For Yourself: This is huge for self-talk. When your own inner voice starts spiraling into fear, you have to consciously feed it a dose of courageous counter-programming. You have to be the one to spread courage to yourself first.
To whom it appeals?
| Audience | leaders (184), motivational speakers (7), patients (21), students (286), therapists (51) |
|---|---|
This quote can be used in following contexts: leadership training,motivational speeches,mental health programs,healing sessions,school workshops
Common Questions
Question: Does this mean I should just pretend everything is fine when it’s not?
Answer: No. That’s toxic positivity. This is about how you address the problem. You acknowledge the reality without being consumed by the emotion of fear. You lead with a solution-focused mindset, which is the essence of practical courage.
Question: What if I’m the one feeling afraid? How can I spread courage then?
Answer: Great question. It starts with a choice. You can name the fear, I’m feeling nervous about this launch, and then immediately follow it with a courageous next step, but I know we’ve prepared, so let’s focus on the first action we can take. It’s about the pivot. Action is the antidote to anxiety.
Question: Is this really that powerful? Can one person’s attitude change a whole group’s?
Answer: Yeah. Think of it like a thermostat. Most people are thermometers, they just reflect the temperature of the room. A leader, a parent, anyone using this principle, acts as the thermostat. They set the temperature. And yes, one person can reset the entire emotional climate.
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