The Only Fear You Need to Have is the Fear of Missing Out

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR DIGITAL EDITION

Fear and danger. Most of us assume they have a proportional relationship to each other—the more dangerous something is, the more we fear it.

My personal observation: There’s no logical link between the two.

Let’s break that down into concrete examples. I’m a frequent flyer, and I should be used to it by now, but I still get a little nervous each time when the plane I’m on comes to land. And yet, I know for a fact that the taxi ride from the airport to my hotel— wherever in the world that is—has more likelihood of ending in a crash.

Do I fear taxis? Not in the slightest.

We all tend to fear what we don’t know, rather than what’s actually unsafe. Climbing a ladder with a pail of paint in one hand is markedly more likely to land me in the hospital than being assaulted in a Latin American alleyway. But, when I tell people I’m about to paint a wall, they don’t have the same raised eyebrow as when I say I’m heading to Ecuador, Guatemala, or El Salvador.

In all my travels for International Living, I’ve never had an incident, or even the threat of one, where my safety was a concern. We choose our locations carefully. If a place looks sketchy, we won’t go there. Yes, Tijuana has worrying safety stats. We don’t suggest you move there. Mérida, though, also in Mexico, is one of the world’s safest cities.

I’m not suggesting that you swan around deprived areas with your camera bouncing off your chest and your wallet bulging out of your back pocket. You wouldn’t do that at home—it would be unsafe. But that’s, essentially, my point.

Good research, solid facts, and experience are the tools to fix unfounded fear. And when you stop worrying about what’s out there, you can really start to enjoy…what’s out there.

My two cents? It’s a safe, friendly, and welcoming world overseas. Let’s go!