Write down the worst that could happen and how you’d handle it. Fear shrinks when it has an outline.

Fear kept vague stays enormous. Written down, the worst case usually turns out to be a specific and survivable list of events, most of which you could handle in some ordinary way. The dread was never really about the event, it was about not knowing its shape.

Take the thing you have been circling and write down what would actually happen if it went badly. Next to each line, write one thing you would do about it. You will probably find the plan is shorter than the worry was.