My imaginary faux pas taught me a powerful lesson. I’d overestimated the degree to which others noticed and judged my actions.

...[E]veryone has at least one fear that rules their life and limits their freedom... When you find it difficult to admit your fears, ask yourself a different question: Are you free? This question helped me uncover my fears one by one ... At a fundamental level, many of us fear finding out who we really are and what about ourselves we need to fix.

“How bad would that really be?”