This isn't an original answer, but I stumbled upon this quote by Michael Michalko (author of Thinkertoys) and it resonated with me. How many of these things am I afraid of? How many times do I sense people's fear of these things? What should we do about it?

"Americans are also the most fearful people in the history of the world. Never before in history have a people who have so much been so much afraid. We are afraid of eating the wrong foods, drinking the wrong liquids, being on the wrong diet, being overweight, being ugly, being old, being friendless, being poor, not having the right house or car, losing our jobs, having a wrong job, being polluted to death, reading the wrong publications, becoming homeless, being attacked by the homeless, being hit by drunk drivers, being hijacked on an airplane, being mugged, being car jacked, being killed in a random act of violence, being beheaded by a religious zealot, of someone smoking a cigarette near us, and even afraid that we are not physically endowed enough to be in a physical relationship.

We are afraid we won't have enough money for a decent burial or that we don't have adequate insurances for our survivors. We are afraid our children will hate or embarrass us. We are afraid we will have to take care of our parents. We are afraid no one will take care of us in our old age. We are afraid other countries will hate us. We're afraid of terrorists killing us. We're afraid to act in our best interest for national security because of what the world will think and we're afraid not to act because of what the world will think. We're afraid of being sued. We’re afraid to get too close to our neighbors. We’re afraid to greet and talk to strangers. We’re afraid not to vote even when there is no one that we feel is worth a vote. We're afraid of ruining the environment, we are afraid of causing global warming, of being responsible for all the miseries in the Third World, of being responsible for all the criminals and murderers among us, and for all the sins of the world’s history. We are afraid of nuclear power. We are afraid to drill for oil and we are afraid not to drill for oil. We are afraid to speak freely and openly about how we really feel. We are afraid to be proud to be an American. We are afraid of being politically incorrect. We are afraid of being called racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, anti-feminist, religious, fascist, radical, ignorant, or prejudiced.

We are even afraid to wish each other a Merry Christmas."