A man walking in the night slipped from a rock. Afraid that he would fall down thousands of feet—because he knew that place was a very deep valley—he took hold of a branch that was hanging over the rock.
In the night all he could see was a bottomless abyss. He shouted; his own shout was reflected back - there was nobody to hear.
You can imagine that man and his whole night of torture. Every moment there was death, his hands were becoming cold, he was losing his grip...
And as the sun came out he looked down and he laughed: there was no abyss. Just six inches down there was a rock. He could have rested the whole night, slept well - the rock was big enough - but the whole night was a nightmare.
From my own experience I can say to you: the fear is not more than six inches deep. Now it is up to you whether you want to go on clinging to the branch and turn your life into a nightmare or whether you would like to leave the branch and stand on your feet...”
Osho
Source: Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously