You got that right. Rock climbing accidents that result in death are very rare. Back country skiers are mostly wiped out by ignorance and avalanches. In both these cases it's the mind that protects you. The rock climber is using a rope strong enough to hall a Jeep up the face. It almost always includes a person on the other end that deals with falls if they occur. You can take courses in avalanche awareness and test open snow fields for likely danger before ever adventuring out on them. Knowledge and skills can help you "relax your mind." You can also take drugs for that, lose all sense of fear, and become a living crash test dummy. Nobody goes to Yosemite to climb a difficult large wall, resulting in needing a rescue, with only one or two beginner climbs under their belts. It all starts out at the beginning with simple top roped practice climbs. These day there are climbing shops with climbing walls set up like a gymnasium. The same goes for camping out alone in the wilderness. The point is don't be bear & mountain lion food. Don't camp where other people have been preyed upon for being too close in to large populations. There are obvious dangers in this world. Find a way to actually mitigate that reality. One is to be a danger to obvious predators. If they want in then finish them off. Self protection is still a right. Would you like to meet up with a rapist with a 12 gauge shotgun in your hands or a sign with a happy face on it? Everyone has their own sense of survival. If someone wants to break into your car you need to know your limitations, skills, and preparedness. It is the assailant that needs to be in fear, not you. There is also surrender. You can go happily and die knowing that you don't mind being killed by a stranger. I recommend a gut level scream as the knife goes in. Just say goodbye and so long. I won't be seeing you down the road.
Does that sound harsh? All fear will do is make you freeze up. You will forget your skills if you have any.
