I will be the first to admit that I am scared of many different things, my biggest fears being clowns, any sort of mascot, snakes, and the dark. There are few things I dislike more in this world than seeing a creepy clown picture pop up on my computer screen or seeing an actual clown in real life. In eighth grade, I went to a clown-themed haunted house, walked two feet into it, started crying, and ran back out. I lasted maybe 10 seconds. Needless to say, I do not like Halloween or clowns these days. They are terrifying.

While clowns are one of my worst fears, but everyone’s fears are different. I would imagine some of you are afraid of snakes like me, spiders, heights, failure (this one applies to me too), or flying. There are so many different fears out there and each of us is scared of different things.

But although we all have fears, albeit different ones, we all respond very differently to our individual fears. When it comes to clowns and snakes, I personally run away screaming. Yet, when it comes to mascots and the dark, my other two fears, I try to contain myself and suffer through it in silence, pretending I’m not actually scared.

In this way, everyone reacts differently to each of their fears. Some people who are afraid of heights might never get up off the ground, while others might try to conquer their fear of heights by getting up as high as they can and trying to become comfortable with it. It is the same with public speaking — you can avoid it altogether or try to overcome it by doing it often.

I am a firm believer in trying to overcome your fears by facing them often. One of my favorite quotes that is hanging in my dorm at this very moment is: “He who is not every day conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.” Every day I try to push myself past what I am comfortable with and face a fear. I may not overcome a fear each day, but each day that I work at it, I get that much closer.

Now, this does not mean I go searching for a clown every day. I simply find ways to overcome small fears or make small steps to overcome the big fears. It may be my fear of rejection that I face each day by talking to strangers for at least 10 minutes. Or it may be my fear of failure that I face by reminding myself that failure provides learning experiences. Oftentimes, overcoming failures does not involve a drastic change, but rather a simple change in your mindset and attitude.

Therefore, I encourage you to think of your fears differently. Instead of thinking of them as terrifying and scary, think of them rather as opportunities to grow and learn. When we think of fears as terrifying, it gives our fears power over us. Our fears then have the ability to trample us and bring us down. Instead, when we think of them as opportunities for growth, we regain the power. We have control of our lives and we will not allow our fears to trample over us.

So although I do not think my fear of clowns will ever go away, I try to change my attitude about them. Instead of automatically thinking of them as scary and creepy, I try to view them as most children do — as happy, funny people. In reality, they are simply people and they are not going to hurt me.

If we try to shift our mindset about our fears in this way, we no longer feel trapped and petrified when we face our fears, but instead gain more confidence. And this confidence can build upon itself. Each time you face your fear, even if it is only slightly less than a disaster, you have gotten one step closer to overcoming your fear.

So, just for fun, the next time I see a clown, I’m going to tell him a joke.