Bravery

'You must do the thing you think you cannot do.'

Eleanor Roosevelt 

Bravery is making a good choice even if you think you won’t enjoy it, and even if you feel frightened or might find it difficult.  Deciding to do a brave thing sometimes happens very quickly (like standing up for your friend in the playground), but sometimes you have time to think about being brave (like going to the dentist). We can help ourselves to be brave by saying, ‘Just do it!’ or, ‘I know I can do this if I try!’ Everyone has different fears or worries, but we can all show bravery and help each other to be brave.  Sometimes we feel scared of things because they are dangerous. This is a sensible feeling and it can help us to stay safe, for example, being scared of diving into deep water if you cannot swim. Sometimes though, we are scared of things that we think might be difficult, but make us feel proud and happy when we have done it, like speaking in front of the class. 

Part of using your bravery is doing things that are right, and feel right.  This can mean using bravery to tell a trusted adult if someone touches us or speaks to us in a way we don't like.  Being brave helps us to be safe. 

We can also refer to bravery as courage or being bold. The opposite of bravery is cowardice. An excess of bravery can lead to foolhardiness.