Plenty of rodeo kids start with mutton busting, riding sheep at five. Big courage usually begins as small, silly courage.

Nobody starts with the hardest version of anything. A small kid holding onto a sheep is not impressive by adult standards, but they are learning the real skill: staying on something that wants you off, and getting up afterward. Nerve gets trained at low stakes first, where falling costs nothing except dignity. The silly version is not a detour around the brave one; it is the brave one, scaled down.

Pick the smaller, sillier form of whatever you are avoiding. One open mic instead of the showcase, one pickup game instead of a tryout. Do that one this week.