Fear does not control me.

A dog barks at the postman every single day with total conviction and has never once been right. The household stopped acting on the information years ago. The dog is still audible, still consulted, still part of the family.

Fear runs a similar service. It reports constantly and its accuracy is poor, particularly about social risk — the email that will end your career, the silence that means somebody is furious.

Control is a question of who acts, not who speaks. Let it bark. Then check whether anything is actually at the door before rearranging your day around it.