When in high places, I find myself looking at the structure and wondering. Did the guy who welded this railing know what he was doing, as I inspect his welds? On top of the Stratisphere in Vegas, where the windows slope outwards, I saw people with their hands on the windows so they could look straight down. All I could think of was "will that glass hold?". When I ride a carnival thrill ride, I'm looking at the anchors and contemplating how much torque or stress is being put on them.
But fear or no fear, I'm going to keep pushing myself to the limit. Like Dino says, it's time to live. So I am celebrating my fear of heights this March. Going to Africa and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. I'm already to old to die young. I already know how my kids turned out. I'm even now watching my 4th generation getting a start, so it's time to live. Which is what I've been doing the past 15 years.