So you know how fun it is to imagine scary, dangerous things happening to you? As in, how many fun ways can you imagine yourself dying today? Electrocution. Vehicular collision. Lightning. Terrorist joy. Falling on a treadmill. Choking. And so on and so forth?

Well the bad news is you could die anytime or anywhere. There are genocides and plagues and bad television programs lurking around every corner. Or at least some corners somewhere. The good news is that means that you can leave your house without fear! Or at least without any more fear than you should feel inside your house.

Since you could really die under any circumstances, it’s not so much that this or that place is a death trap, it’s a matter of trading risks. Afraid of planes? Don’t forget to be afraid of cars as well! Afraid of poisonous spiders? Why not try parasites on for size?

Ultimately, what makes you safe isn’t thinking about all of the awful things that could happen to you. Rather, it’s determining what you can prepare for versus what you can’t. And it’s knowing that you can handle this or that situation, and what steps you’d need to take in order to do so. Safety is a state of mind. Because theoretically all of existence could change dramatically tomorrow.

The goal is to find ways of reframing and alleviating each fear that occurs to you. Electrocution? Good thing you always keep appliances away from water. Vehicular collision? Jump out of the cars then watch them crash and burn! Lightning? Just keep your iPod close and let those headphones ground you. Of course you can always imagine ways that everything goes wrong despite your best efforts. The point is: keep imagining. Try to continue your nightmare narratives to a slightly less awful conclusion. For instance, instead of your story ending with you choking to death, perhaps someone notices you struggling, helps you out, and then steals your wallet. A happy ending.

So really everywhere is safe. In that theoretically things could go awfully and yet you’d be able to imagine some way to come out of it alive. It’s your fear, and your negativity, and your narratives. Even if you can’t control the outside world, you can redirect the impressions you carry of it within your own mind.