Pessimism Bias

Being scared and being fearful sounds like the same thing, but they might have more differences than first meets the eye. One is experienced quickly—we acquired it through countless iterations of evolution. The other is slow and purposeful, even though we oftentimes don’t view it that way.

But the linguistic distinction isn’t important. The phenomena are. We can be excused for a reactionary response outside of our control. But much resides within our area of control. It may not always be easy; nevertheless, the choice to surmount our fears is ours.