This week, Jairus Matthew Copeland uses an unexpectedly funny metaphor — “fear and fart” — to explore the balance between creative confidence and humility. What begins as an anecdote about the awkward experience of “farting forward” turns into a sharp reflection on risk-taking, fear, and self-awareness. Copeland contrasts the paralyzing fear that prevents people from pursuing what they want with the blind overconfidence that ignores failure or consequence. Through personal stories about family dynamics, marriage, and creative vulnerability, he argues that the healthiest path lies in respecting risk without being ruled by it — that real growth, love, and art require discomfort, humility, and courage in equal measure.