Most of what you’re afraid to lose, you don’t actually have yet. You’re scared of losing a daydream.

A lot of fear is busy protecting something imaginary. You have not applied yet and you are already grieving the rejection, or you are guarding a relationship that so far exists mostly as a plan. The loss feels vivid because your head renders the future in detail, and the detail makes it seem like something you are currently holding.

Ask what you would actually be down if the worst happened, and name it concretely. Usually the honest answer is that you would be exactly where you are standing now, plus some information you did not have.