After eleven years of marriage, when it became clear that divorce was the only option, I was consumed by fear: How would I tell my two daughters? If I broke up the family they knew, would it change them irreversibly? Would they understand? It was my job to keep their lives as pain-free as possible, and here I was, about to hurt them beyond measure. It wasn’t easy, but I knew that staying in an unhappy marriage would ultimately be more damaging to them, not to mention to me. I had to be fearless for them: I had to show them that everything would be okay. In doing so, I came to believe it myself.

What are some of the choices you’ve made that required fearless thinking? Can you list some fearless choices your own parents made that you can appreciate now?

–Arianna Huffington