Composure keeps fear from editing the facts.

Fear does not simply accompany your understanding of a situation, it revises it. Possibilities become probabilities, one person’s disapproval becomes everyone’s, a setback becomes a pattern. The account you end up with feels like an accurate reading and has been quietly edited on the way in.

When you are frightened, write down what you believe is happening and then mark which parts you could actually demonstrate. The unsupported parts are usually the ones doing the most damage, and seeing them listed separately takes a surprising amount of weight out of them.