Trying a new food in front of friends who might laugh is small. Small brave things train the big ones.

Nerve works more like a muscle than a trait. What builds it is reps of being slightly exposed and surviving it, and the content of the rep barely matters. A strange food in front of people who might laugh trains the exact thing a harder moment will need: being watched while you are unsure, and not folding. Nobody gets to the big version without a stack of small ones underneath.

Collect one small risk a day this week. Order something you cannot pronounce, sit with a different group, ask the question you think is obvious. Keep them small and keep them daily.