We know how fear feels, but I'm not sure we spend enough time thinking about what our fears mean.

　　我们知道恐惧的感觉， 但是我不能肯定我们会花很多时间想过 我们的恐惧到底意味着什么。

　　As we grow up, we're often encouraged to think of fear as a weakness, just another childish thing to discard like baby teeth or roller skates.

　　我们长大以后，我们总是会被鼓励把恐惧 视为软弱，需要像乳牙或轮滑鞋一样 扔掉的幼稚的东西。

　　And I think it's no accident that we think this way. Neuroscientists have actually shown that human beings are hard-wired to be optimists.

　　我想意外事故并非我们所想的那样。 神经系统科学家已经知道人类 生来就是乐观主义者。

　　So maybe that's why we think of fear, sometimes, as a danger in and of itself. "Don't worry," we like to say to one another. "Don't panic." In English, fear is something we conquer. It's something we fight.

　　这也许就是为什么我们认为有时候恐惧， 本身就是一种危险或带来危险。 “不要愁。”我们总是对别人说。“不要慌”。 英语中，恐惧是我们需要征服的东西。 是我们必须对抗的东西，是我们必须克服的东西。

　　It's something we overcome. But what if we looked at fear in a fresh way? What if we thought of fear as an amazing act of the imagination, something that can be as profound and insightful as storytelling itself?

　　但是我们如果换个视角看恐惧会如何呢? 如果我们把恐惧当做是想象力的一个惊人成果， 是和我们讲故事一样 精妙而有见地的东西，又会如何呢?

　　It's easiest to see this link between fear and the imagination in young children, whose fears are often extraordinarily vivid.

　　在小孩子当中，我们最容易看到恐惧与想象之间的联系， 他们的恐惧经常是超级生动的。