A Pit of Snakes and Tarantulas

Many people have their fears.  Mine happens to be public performances, worms, centipedes and deep water.  Unfortunately for me, I have to overcome one of those in order to get my blackbelt.  I ask you though,  please don't push me too hard.  A gentle nudge is ok, but I need to overcome it in my own way.  If your biggest fear was snakes and tarantulas and I asked you to jump into a pit of them, would you?  Probably not, you'd want to start off by being alright with pictures of them, then by being in the same room, then by maybe touching one and then by holding one.  If I told you that you had to jump in a pit full of them, you'd probably faint or run away.  This is how I feel when being pushed into public performances.  I don't want to feel like my decision has to be do it or quit.  I want to start gradually with dragon dance or something.  I'm willing to try but don't want to be overwhelmed.