How to become brave?

One fearful person came to a martial arts master and asked him to teach bravery. The master looked at him and said:

“I will teach you on one condition: For one month you will have to live in a big city and tell every person that you meet on your way that you are a coward. You will have to say it loudly, openly and looking straight into the person’s eyes.” The person got really sad, because this task seemed very scary to him. For a couple of days he was very sad and thoughtful, but to live with his cowardice was so unbearable that he travelled to the city to accomplish his mission.

At first, when meeting the passers, he quailed, lost his speech and couldn’t contact anyone. But he needed to finish the master’s task, so he began to overcome himself. When he came up to his first passer to tell about his cowardice, it seemed to him that he would die with fear. But his voice sounded louder and more confident with every passing day.

Suddenly came a moment, when the man caught himself thinking that he’s not scared anymore, and the further he continued doing the master’s task, the more convinced he was that the fear was abandoning him. That way a month had passed. The person came back to the master, bowed to him and said, “Thank you master. I finished your task. Now I’m not afraid anymore.

But how did you know that this strange task will help me?” The master answered, “The thing is that cowardice is only a habit. And by doing the things that scare us, we can destroy the stereotypes and come to a conclusion that you came to. And now you know that bravery is also a habit. And if you want to make bravery a part of yourself- you need to move forward into the fear. Then the fear will go away, and bravery will take its place.”