In order to fight irrational fears, I suggest you read this story:
One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops—a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.
At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a Pathan got on. Six feet four, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the conductor and said, "Pathan doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back.
The conductor didn't argue with the Pathan, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day, the same thing happened—Pathan got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next...
This brought feelings of insult, lack, and shame in the conductor's heart. The conductor finally decided to go on a vacation. He worked hard to build a strong physique, took self-defense classes, and finally came back to take the role of conductor three months later.
He now had the courage to ask the question he should have asked the Pathan three months ago: why he wouldn't buy a ticket. He asked the Pathan, "Ticket!" Pathan said, "Pathan doesn't pay!" So he again asked in a loud voice, "Ticket!" and the driver stood up, glared back at the Pathan, and screamed, "And why not?" Then the Pathan replied with a surprised look on his face, "Pathan has a bus pass."
The moral of the story: Sometimes the problems are not as big as we make them. We overestimate our problems and underestimate ourselves. Like in this story, the bus conductor overestimated the problem and made it so big that it never existed.
Once Mark Twain said, "I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened."
One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops—a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.
At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a Pathan got on. Six feet four, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the conductor and said, "Pathan doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back.
The conductor didn't argue with the Pathan, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day, the same thing happened—Pathan got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next...
This brought feelings of insult, lack, and shame in the conductor's heart. The conductor finally decided to go on a vacation. He worked hard to build a strong physique, took self-defense classes, and finally came back to take the role of conductor three months later.
He now had the courage to ask the question he should have asked the Pathan three months ago: why he wouldn't buy a ticket. He asked the Pathan, "Ticket!" Pathan said, "Pathan doesn't pay!" So he again asked in a loud voice, "Ticket!" and the driver stood up, glared back at the Pathan, and screamed, "And why not?" Then the Pathan replied with a surprised look on his face, "Pathan has a bus pass."
The moral of the story: Sometimes the problems are not as big as we make them. We overestimate our problems and underestimate ourselves. Like in this story, the bus conductor overestimated the problem and made it so big that it never existed.
Once Mark Twain said, "I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened."