Fear is the anticipation of pain.
It's a sort of signal, then.
After reading our outer and inner states and comparing those with its database of memories, our brain predicts that there will be pain. So, it triggers fear because the main task of our brain is to keep us alive.
Do you feel fear when you think about doing something? Then be aware there may be some pain coming. If you don't like pain, listen to your fear and don't do it.
Effective, right?
At least if survival is your only aspiration.
Fears kept me stuck for a long time.
I was so fearful that I made an art of staying in my bubble without touching its surface. For many years, my life was a game of avoidance.
Like that classic Operation Game where you must act like a surgeon removing pieces from someone without making it buzz.
Until my bubble crumbled under the weight of those same fears it was built on.
And then, I learned that pain is unavoidable if I want to grow.
So now, fear is still a signal that anticipates pain, but it also shows me a possible way to grow.