I am grateful for my fears as well as my ability to overcome them.

A dog that barks at the postman every single day is not malfunctioning. It's doing the job it understands, slightly too well, with no way to check the facts.

Fear is much the same employee. It kept your ancestors alive, it has stopped you doing genuinely stupid things, and it also loses its mind over an unanswered email.

Gratitude for it isn't sentimental. It's recognising an overzealous guard rather than an enemy, which changes how you speak to it.

The second half deserves equal credit: you have been overruling that bark for years. Quietly. Successfully. Mostly without noticing you did it.