Courage is expensive because it requires paying before certainty arrives.

Courage requires paying up front with no receipt. You spend the effort, the exposure, and the risk before you know whether anything comes back, and there is no arrangement in which the reassurance comes first. That ordering is what makes it expensive rather than merely difficult.

When you are hesitating, be clear with yourself that the guarantee is not on offer and never was. Then ask whether the price is one you can afford if nothing comes back. If it is, the deal is acceptable regardless of the outcome, and you can act without needing the assurance you were holding out for.