A friend challenged me to sum up my New Year’s resolution in a single word. I failed. Just too many words to choose from. So my six-word resolution is, “Don’t be afraid to be afraid.”

This world we share is often fearsome. Being afraid — and bravely admitting it — is the first step to becoming unafraid because when we look something in the eye and confess, “You scare the heebie-jeebies out of me,” then we start to figure out how to become unafraid.

Still, being fearless is much easier said than done. We want to face our fears, look brave and act courageous even when our minds are screaming “Flight! Flight!” instead of “Fight! Fight!” But sometimes it’s OK to be afraid. To look afraid, to act afraid. To BE afraid.

Being afraid is healthy. It keeps us from falling off cliffs, walking in front of trains and jumping into strange waters. But too much fear is paralyzing. Finding balance is the key. For some, it starts with just getting out of bed each morning to face their fearful world. They are among the heroes.

When fear interferes with where we’re going and what we’re doing, it’s time to tell ourselves, “Don’t be afraid to be afraid.” It’s the first step to answers and solutions. And the fear itself is often the motivator that helps us punch through to the peaceful place beyond the fear.

I have a friend with a young daughter who is afraid of the dark. Many of us know that experience. Some of us are still in it. She faces her fear every evening as the sun slides away and darkness creeps in. Right now her fear keeps her from even going to the mailbox unaccompanied. She sleeps with the light on but sometimes still ends up in her parents’ bed by morning.

Her mom’s patience is borne of her own growing up years when she was also afraid of the dark. She confided that a mean brother didn’t help the situation, but she got through it and like most adults knows the dark is necessary, helpful, even sometimes a friend. One night, her husband took the daughter out onto the lawn where they sat on a blanket and studied the stars. Another night, they took a book and a flashlight. She’ll actually go camping with him now, as long as the flashlight goes too. She’s on her way to overcoming her “afraid.”

Our grown-up world is full of fearsome things. Preserving the security of our families is enough to keep us awake. Worldwide warring, the unrest of this country, the unpredictability of the economy, the uncertainty of employment and society’s instability add to our fears. Genuine adulting means we are rightfully afraid of something most of our lives.

Even everyday living offers opportunities to be afraid — and to overcome it. Last week, I had to drive through a canyon that is treacherous in snow. On the morning of my journey, grey clouds poured down snow from my doorstep to that canyon and all the way through it. I engaged in lot of self-talk, my car slid a few times, I prayed often and made it through. I don’t ever want to do that again. But I wasn’t afraid to admit I was afraid as I started into the canyon, so the comfort that came from knowing my fear was OK kept my hands gripping the wheel and the prayers pouring out.

So it’s OK to not be afraid to be afraid. People around us do this all the time. We see them speak out against things that are wrong, rally others to good causes, talk to strangers, hand out smiles to those who don’t have one, protect the underdogs of the world, share their beliefs, respectfully agree to disagree, exchange gratitude for criticism, even embrace new problems rather than running away from them.

I hope we look back on this coming year and don’t say, “I was never afraid,” but rather, “I was scared out of my mind most of the time but I figured it out.”

Now that would be a triumphant year.

D. Louise Brown lives in Layton. She writes a biweekly column for the Standard-Examiner.

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