"Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up”  ― Veronica Roth, Divergent

We tend to think that fear is what keeps us from doing things: that fear inhibits our abilities and puts limits on ourselves.  This isn't exactly true.  Fear wakes  us up gives us that rush of an "oh my gosh this is scary" moment.  But it is ourselves that limit our abilities because we are afraid of them.  It is not the fear itself that shuts us down but ourselves.  We think and fester on the fear and let our minds make it worse than it actually is in reality.

When we face our fears there is a sense of accomplishment, power, and control.  We get exhilarated and excited that we accomplished something and overcame a fear.  Our fears wakes us up to the fact that there is something else in this world, bigger and even scarier than ourselves.  There is something we cannot control, but it is something we can overcome and become stronger because of it.  There are plenty of things in life to be afraid of and the extent of that fear depends on the person and their experiences.  I was once afraid of water because at a young age before I could swim, I fell into the deep end of a pool.  Now you need to drag me out of the water.  Even then I was afraid of the ocean and the waves, but once I stepped foot in that water and began to feel confident, I lay there and let the waves carry me away (I make sure I can easily get back to shore of course).  But those are fears that woke me, woke a passion to overcome that fear and enjoy one of the wonders this world has to offer.

 We like to think that our fears keep us from accomplishing things.  Granted sometimes they might keep us from putting ourselves out there, keep us from taking that risk.  But at the same time doesn't it make you want that thing even more?