The best way to overcome your fears is to engage in that which you are afraid of...within reason. I recall being attached to a 100' length of rope which was attached to a helicopter at the other end and then flying around the Chattahoochee River and Ft. Benning, GA area.
one of the two books was my dads old copy of 'rose madder'. I had it since middle school but i never read it until sometime in high school. although i have seen a few Stephen king movies too.
When I was a kid I got tricked into eating a soap flavored Bertie Botts every flavor bean. Those are Harry Potter themed edible jellybeans like in the books.
One of the most desired changes for my life going forward is that I attribute more time to personal research and study. It needn't be explicitly relevant to my interests, tangential at very least, but should be practical and useful knowledge to know.