Do you know why Batman is called Batman? It’s because he had a phobia of bats. In the story of the origins of the fictional character he developed this fear during childhood and when in later life he wanted to train in order to gain self-control his training involved facing his greatest fears rather than avoiding them. He progressively trained around bats and then eventually dressed as and named himself after his greatest fear in the process of overcoming it.
Action: In making change in your life you needn’t do anything quite so dramatic, but the principle of desensitisation through gradual exposure is an important principle used in therapy and training. With therapeutic support when you wish to gain comfort over something that is safe in practice but that you have previously felt uncomfortable about gradually and intentionally engaging in it, rather than avoiding it, can be very powerful.