From "Dark Knight Rises."
"Bruce, Why do we fall?"
"You do not fear death, you think this makes you strong...it makes you weak."
"Why"
"How can you move faster than possible, fight longer than possible, without the most powerful impulse of their spirit?...The fear of death."
"I do fear death, I fear dying in here."
"Then make the climb, as the child did, WITHOUT the rope....Then fear will find you again."
When we don't give ourselves that rope...when we put all that we have on the line, at that moment we are vulnerable. It is the rope that holds us back, the fear of the fear. Fear is a tool to push us, to keep us in check, to keep us living. This scene is so beautiful as he rises from the pit, watch it.
I heard you ate your way out when you were born.
In my experience I like to look at things completely opposite from this. Being fearful of death is essentially being fearful of failure, and "putting things on the line" is just not motivating to me.