Nothing to fear but fear itself

Have you ever found yourself afraid to do or say something for reasons that seem silly even to you? I find myself in this situation more often than I'd like to admit. It's usually because I'm very confrontation avoidant. I really dislike conflict with other people, even more so when those people are friends or family. So while I might really want to speak my mind, I don't because I'm afraid it might cause a conflict with someone. At times, I have good reason to avoid causing unnecessary conflict. I personally like being on good terms with my neighbors and my in-laws. This is the primary reason I avoid talking about religion or politics with almost everyone except my spouse. I find that my point of view on these things is rarely popular with others. I realize that it wouldn't kill me if I got into an argument with someone, I'd just rather not.

Other times, I'll be hesitant to do something, and I'm not even sure why. I suppose it's probably that all too common fear of the unknown. Depending on what it is, I might be afraid of appearing, or even feeling, stupid or incompetent or whatever. The reasons are usually pretty silly. I've never had the world come crashing down around me when I finally decided to take action. More times than not, things work out just fine, and it was no big deal.

So why is it that some of us so often find ourselves faced with this irrational fear? I suppose it's a bit of insecurity and perhaps a bit of a lack of self-confidence. Maybe it's even just a bit of not wanting to leave our comfort zone. In the end, I think it's a just a sign that we should dig a littler deeper into ourselves and muster the gumption to take that chance. Most of the time, we're not actually taking that  big of a risk. So why not? I, for one, would like to take control of my life instead of letting life take control of me.