Asserting most people choose the "smart" path as much out of fear of failure as by making a calibrated decision seems more like projection than observation.
The GP wrote, "But there is always the niggling feeling for many (I am one) that while I may be making the "smart" choice the real reason I don't do something like this is that I am afraid."
He or she seems to be projecting rather than observing. That is: it might apply to them, but there's nothing in the GP's comment supporting a more general applicability.