Summer of Bravery | A list of Items to Do

Social Bravery

1. Host a dinner party and invite neighbors or acquaintances you’d like to know better.
2. Compliment a complete stranger on their outfit, energy, or smile.
3. Ask a friend to hang out one-on-one when you usually only see them in group settings.
4. Call someone you haven’t spoken to in years just to catch up, without texting first.
5. Attend a local meetup or club for a hobby you know nothing about.
6. Ask for a discount at a local shop or market, just to practice handling rejection.
7. Say “no” to a summer plan you usually agree to purely out of obligation.
8. Ask someone you admire for coffee so you can pick their brain.
9. Volunteer for a leadership role in a local community project or summer festival.
10. Tell someone exactly how much they mean to you, entirely unprompted.

Being Alone | Bravery

11. Eat a full, sit-down dinner alone at a nice restaurant without looking at your phone.
12. Go to a movie theater by yourself.
13. Take a day trip to a nearby town or nature reserve entirely solo.
14. Go camping (even if it’s just pitching a tent in your backyard) by yourself.
15. Attend a concert or live music event alone and strike up a conversation with someone in the crowd.
16. Spend a full 24 hours offline—no social media, texts, or internet.
17. Read a book in a public park for hours, embracing being alone in public.
18. Try paddleboarding or kayaking on your own.
19. Take a long walk at sunrise before the rest of the world wakes up.
20. Wander through a museum alone and take as much time as you want without worrying about a companion’s pace.

Physical Bravery

21. Go ziplining or tackle a high-ropes adventure course.
22. Take a cold shower every morning for a full week.
23. Sign up for a 5K or a physical challenge you aren’t totally sure you can finish.
24. Try a brand-new outdoor sport, like rock climbing, bouldering, or mountain biking.
25. Jump into a pool or lake with your clothes on (as long as it is safe and allowed!).
26. Take a martial arts or self-defense class.
27. Go on a night hike with a headlamp to see nature in a totally different way.
28. Take an adult gymnastics or trampoline class.
29. Learn a water sport like surfing, wakeboarding, or water skiing.
30. Sign up for a dance class (salsa, hip-hop, ballroom) and stand right in the front row.

Creative Bravery

31. Post a video of yourself singing, dancing, or speaking passionately about a topic online.
32. Go to an open mic night and read a poem, play a song, or tell a joke.
33. Wear an outfit you love but have always thought was “too bold” for you to pull off.
34. Paint a canvas and proudly hang it in your home, even if it isn’t perfect.
35. Write a short story or essay and submit it to a publication, blog, or local paper.
36. Sing karaoke in a crowded, high-energy room.
37. Take an improv comedy class.
38. Dye your hair a fun color or chop it into a completely new style.
39. Take a pottery wheel class and let yourself be messy and terrible at it.
40. Leave an anonymous piece of art or a positive note in a highly trafficked public place.

Personal Growth

41. Write a letter of forgiveness to someone who hurt you (you don’t ever have to send it).
42. Have a difficult, overdue conversation with a loved one to clear the air.
43. Ask three close friends for honest feedback on your blind spots.
44. Start going to therapy or join a local support group.
45. Try speaking a new language with a native speaker in a real-world setting.
46. Apply for a job or opportunity you feel wildly underqualified for.
47. Admit to a mistake you made a long time ago and genuinely apologize for it.
48. Donate 20% of your wardrobe that you’re clinging to for purely nostalgic reasons.
49. Try meditation and sit completely alone in silence with your thoughts for 20 minutes.
50. Write down your biggest insecurity and share it with someone you deeply trust.

Culinary & Cultural Bravery

51. Cook a highly complex recipe you’ve always been intimidated by (like homemade pasta or a soufflé).
52. Go to an international grocery store, buy five ingredients you can’t identify, and figure out how to cook with them.
53. Eat a food you are famously afraid of or claim to hate, like oysters, escargot, or a super spicy pepper.
54. Take a cooking class for a cuisine you know absolutely nothing about.
55. Attend a cultural festival or a religious service outside of your own background.
56. Read a non-fiction book that challenges your core political, philosophical, or social beliefs.
57. Forage for local, safe wild edibles (make sure to use a guide or expert!).
58. Commit to a week of a totally different diet (e.g., going vegan or cutting out all processed sugar).
59. Watch a critically acclaimed foreign film without dubbing (subtitles only).
60. Let the waiter order your entire meal for you.