I was often tempted to turn tail, but held my ground for all that, and got some profit of my lessons; if it was but to stand on guard with an assured countenance, which is often all that is required. So, though I could never in the least please my master, I was not altogether displeased with myself.

David Balfour

“Turn tail” sounds like a 50’s phrase, but here it is, in print, from a book published in 1886.

One more thing. Sometimes all it takes is standing confidently, acting confidently to deter.

And one final thing. The one person you don’t want to be displeased with is yourself.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Kidnapped. New York: Running Press, 1989. pp189