Fear Itself

"The only thing to fear is fear itself." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

That's a famous phrase that I often repeat to myself whenever I have fear.  Honestly, I really dislike fear.  I guess I'm a bit of a control freak and I feel like I don't have control when I'm scared and vulnerable.  For a control freak, that's a weird feeling to be out of control.  I can try to rationalize and calm myself down after the fact; but in the moment when the fear overcomes you, you get a glimpse at how you respond to fear.  It's pure instinct...fight or fly.  It really sucks when your instinct is to flee.  But that's what makes courage so interesting.  You are scared of what's happening or about to happen but you take the risk anyway.  That's courageous!  Courage is weathering the storm of fear.