Fear is powerful. It’s necessary, too. I won’t get rid of it but I can learn to deal with it in ways that help me live the way I want to.

Avoidance isn’t the answer; I end up in GARDEN/notes/The cage that fear creates.

Big extreme dramatic moves usually aren’t great, either. I can hype myself up for something like that, but it’s not sustainable. The wave of adrenaline recedes, the fear rushes back in.

• Find a small way to face my fear, a small action. Do it, then again, and again.
• Basically exposure & response prevention therapy.

The goal is not to move from one extreme (doing everything I can to avoid X) to another extreme (doing some extreme thing to force myself to face X).

I don’t need extremes in order to grow.

Small steps will do. Small versions are powerful. Small movements have big energy. The pebble, the water, the ripple. Drop in the tiniest pebble. Watch the ripples expand.

I don’t need to transplant the whole fucking tree; I can plant a tiny seed, instead, and help it grow.