It suddenly occurred to me: I had taken a risk, invited an experience I was scared of, and I’d survived it. I could—and would—take such a risk again. And it made me remember how it’s always been like this. Something terrifies you, but you do it anyway because you wouldn’t respect yourself for backing down. You take on the scary thing. You confront the elephant in the room. And when all is said and done, and whatever mess you’ve created has been cleaned up, you wonder what scared you so much in the first place.