What do you do when you are scared?

If you're like me, you just kind of scream bloody murder. But we all know that one person that, when scared runs for the hills. In fact, you might never have seen them move past a walk until that very moment. But scare them once and next thing you know they’re the next freaking Barry Allan. Or there’s that one friend that curls into a fetal position. In less than a second they’ve disappeared from your sight line and have melted into the floor. In a scary movie this individual would most likely be dead. In real life, it just kind of confuses everyone.

But what about that third friend?

You know, that one friend you will never willingly jump out at. Like ever.

This is that friend who, despite being perhaps the nicest person, throws a punch. Whether it is instinct or fear causing dangerous muscle spasms, this friend is the one person you do not want to frighten if you want to leave bruise-free. In fact, you or someone else once made the unfortunate decision to do so and let's just say it ended badly and full of pain.

What can you do though? When you're scared, you're scared, and you can’t really control your knee-jerk reactions. Some people’s legs just start moving before they can really process what’s going on.

But what about when life jumps out of the shadows?

See life can be a whole lot scarier than your stupid friend crouched behind your door. But, unlike your three friends, you can choose how you want to respond.

You can run.

You can give up.

Or you can fight.

Neither of these choices means you are more or less affected by fear. The difference is how you channel that fear when life decides to catch you by surprise