You are more than the things that scare you. Don’t let your fears write your bio.

Fear is loud and it edits. Handed the pen, it writes a very short description of you made entirely of limits, leaving out everything you have already handled, the people who count on you, the things you are good at. The list feels complete because at two in the morning it is the only one in front of you.

Write the other list when you are steadier. What you have got through, what you can do, who you are to people. Keep it somewhere findable. Fear comes back, and it is easier to argue with when the evidence is written down.