We live in a world in which fear is a weakness. Where 'fear' is a shortcoming that keeps us from pursuing our dreams or living up to our full potential. Peer pressure prevails because "I'm afraid" or "I don't feel good about this" is not reason enough to say no. We live in a world that teaches us that fear should not interfere with our daily lives.

For females, this becomes a problem. Females are encouraged to be tough, confident, and strong, to prove that women and men are equals and that women can do anything and everything a man can do. The truth is, in the world we currently live in, women can't do everything a man can do. Women can't comfortably walk home at night, or even walk down the street during the day without being harassed.

Guys, if you're still reading this, I know what you're thinking. This is just another one of those raging, feminist articles encouraging women to buck-up and brave the world. Well, let me spoil the ending and say it's not. Instead, this is an article by a lady for a lady about fear and the role it should play in our lives.

Fear is good.Of course, there are irrational fears, but 9/10 times the fear you feel is logical. Again, ladies, I'm talking to you. If you're alone in the store, or jogging, or walking down a deserted street and you feel like you are being followed, DON'T brush it off. In fact, embrace the feeling and understand that you are feeling that way for a reason. In his book "The Gift of Fear," Gavin de Becker claims if someone is following you, you should turn and look squarely at them. De Becker states, "This not only gives you information, but it communicates to him that you are not a tentative, frightened victim-in-waiting. You are an animal of nature, fully endowed with hearing, sight, intellect, and dangerous defenses. You are not easy prey, so don't act like you are."

Trust that "gut feeling." In the same self-help book, de Becker tells the story of a pilot who began feeling strange while shopping in a convenience store. At the time, he had no conscious awareness of why he was feeling strange, but he decided to leave anyway. The next day, a story of a shooting in that convenience store was plastered all over the news. At the moment, Thompson, the pilot, had no idea why he felt uneasy. Looking back, he remembered how rapid and concerning the clerk's movements were, and that the only other customer in the store was wearing a large jacket in the heat of the summer. At the time, these details were lost in his consciousness. Saying it was a "gut feeling" seems to disprove the legitimacy of his realization. But, according to de Becker, "What Robert Thompson and many others want to dismiss as a coincidence or a gut feeling is, in fact, a cognitive process, faster than we recognize and far different from the familiar step-by-step thinking we rely on so willingly."

And truthfully, if you have trouble listening to your "inner voice," know the signs. In the same book, The "Gift of Fear," de Becker lists seven signs every woman should be aware of. In lieu of not wanting to ruin the book, I'll list only a few. First, de Becker mentions "forced teaming." This occurs when the word 'we' is used to create a 'we're-in-this-together' mentality. This is a way of manipulating emotion to create a fake sense of trust. Second, he mentions "typecasting." This is when, for our purposes, a male says things like, "You're probably too stuck up to talk to me." It's a way to force a woman into doing something that makes her uncomfortable just to prove a point — she's not stuck up. Finally, de Becker mentions the concept of "loan sharking." Essentially, it occurs when a male asks to help you with your bags/books/items or offers you a drink they already have. It's really anything with the intention of making it more difficult for you to leave because you are indebted to them. For the rest of the seven, read Gavin de Becker's book "The Gift of Fear."

The world is a scary place. It just is. Denying that fact and acting as if our natural fear instinct is a figment of our imagination is simply a waste of our biological instincts. So ladies, remember, it's not crazy to trust that "gut feeling." It's safe.

All quotes and factual information can be found in "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker.