Have you ever done something despite being afraid of the potential consequences?

I remember an experience from many years ago when I had to take the bus to work because my car was in for repairs. It was early in the morning, and after boarding, I walked to the back of the bus and sat in the middle seat of the last row, facing the aisle. A couple of stops later, two younger men got on. They seemed to be giving the driver a bit of a hard time, and I had the impression they had been out drinking all night, not quite ready to call it quits.

As they made their way down the aisle, they were belligerent—pretending to spit on other passengers and generally causing a disturbance. It was unsettling. Without thinking, I called up to the driver, "Kick them off the bus!" The driver, clearly hesitant, didn't want to confront them.

The two men sat near me, and one turned to me and said, "So, you want to be a hero, do you?" They continued being loud and obnoxious, their attitudes becoming more than I could tolerate. Before I knew it, I blurted out, "Do you want to step off the bus and settle this?" I’m not sure what made me say it. Maybe it was my disdain for bullies, or the fact that I'd been in a few scraps in my teenage years. Either way, it was out there, and they stood up.

"Let's go," one of them said. Fear hit me like a punch to the gut. Was I really going to go through with this? I glanced at the other passengers. They didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of these guys’ bad behavior.

As I made my way to the back door of the bus, it dawned on me: they wanted me to get off first. If they got off first, I could stay on the bus and leave them behind. Standing by the door, I wondered if I was about to take a beating from both of them. The reality hit me hard, and fear started creeping in, but I pushed it aside thinking again of the other passengers

The bus stopped, and I grabbed the door handle, opening it while keeping my grip tight. I stepped off the bus and held the door open for them. To my surprise, they stepped past me onto the sidewalk, then turned to face me. At that moment, with the door still open, I realized I could step back on the bus. So, I did—and slammed the door shut behind me.

The bus driver, now fully aware of the situation, sped off. As I returned to my seat, the bus erupted in cheers. I was quite astonished; I hadn’t even noticed the other passengers watching. As I sat down and looked out the window, I saw the two men standing there in the cold, watching the bus pull away.

In that moment, I didn’t feel confident. In fact, I was scared. But standing up isn't about being fearless—it's about taking action despite your fear. Whether or not what I did was the best choice, I decided to stand up for the people around me. Sometimes it’s about doing what you believe is right, even when you're unsure of the outcome. It's about facing fear, no matter its size, and pushing through it to move forward. The key is to not let fear hold you back, but to take that step forward despite it.