Just as courage imperils life, fear protects it.

Fear gets a bad name it has not entirely earned. Its whole job is to keep you alive, and it does that job well by holding you back from edges, from strangers, from risks that might not pay. Courage runs the other direction and puts something real on the line. Neither one is the virtue and neither is the flaw; they are two systems with different assignments.

When fear shows up, ask what it is trying to protect and whether that thing is actually in danger. Sometimes it is, and you should listen. Other times the cost of staying safe is the one you keep not counting.