[smoore]

As an additional point, the more time you spend in scary situations, the less scary they become.

The easiest example I can think of is getting an intermediate skiier/snowboarder to step up his/her game. The first time they follow you into a bumpy, steep run you can see the fear on thier face. They survive (although it's never pretty) and at the bottom you see relief. After a few times in this situation the fear is no longer on thier face (they realize they aren't going to die), even though it's still not pretty. Once they reach this point they are actually starting to ride the run instead of letting the run ride them.