It was a safe as I could make it but that doesn’t mean it was “safe.” Still working on live wires. Actually in that case they weren’t even protected by a breaker, just what’s coming out of the transformer.

I’ve accidentally snipped a live wire but at least in that case it was protected by a breaker. When you’re dealing with actual unprotected circuits… I don’t think the dread feeling ever goes away.

Working on a car is also kind of nerve wracking no matter how many times I’ve done it. I’m putting all of my faith into jack stands and I need to exert a great amount of torque under the car. It’s not as unsafe as it used to be back in the day (scissor jacks used to be known as widow-makers).

So I don’t agree with you. It’s more important to have a healthy fear of possible dangers and still do everything in your power to protect yourself than it is to get over that fear. When I feel comfortable doing something is when I make more mistakes (like when I snipped a live wire).