“Do something every day that scares you.”

“Do something every day that scares you.” is a maxim Elizabeth Bohlinger passes on to Brett through a letter, where it becomes a practical instruction to risk failure rather than retreat into fear. The advice returns when Brett must decide whether to be honest with Andrew, linking a mother’s confidence in her daughter to Brett’s own willingness to change her life.

Origin and Meaning

Elizabeth attributes the maxim to Eleanor Roosevelt and places it within a letter written after Brett’s frightening performance. She praises the passion Brett showed that night, even though it arose from fear and anxiety, and sets it against a life of banality. The maxim therefore does not promise that frightening choices will go smoothly; it asks Brett to keep choosing them because risk is part of a worthwhile life.

The letter makes courage something Brett already possesses, not a quality she must acquire from someone else. Elizabeth urges her to remember her own spunk and fortitude when fear returns. Brett rereads the words and runs her fingers over them, looking for guidance about what to do next. Her thoughts turn to Andrew, teaching, and Carrie, but she pushes away the possibility that terrifies her most. She has survived one failed performance, yet is not ready to repeat it.

Return in Brett’s Choice

The maxim resurfaces when Andrew tells Brett to do what she wants rather than what her mother wanted for her. He describes their shared life as good as it is, despite career stress, and says he cannot imagine adding children, a dog, a horse, and social obligations. His appeal gives Brett a clear alternative to the risks Elizabeth urged her to take: preserve a familiar relationship and the life they already have.

Brett recognizes that answering truthfully may mean losing Andrew. Her mother’s words return to her as a call to take hold of courage when she is afraid. Brett answers that her mother is right. In this scene, the maxim shifts from a lesson about surviving a public failure to a prompt for a private decision: courage requires more than enduring fear; it may require choosing against the security of a relationship.

Narrative Function

The saying links Elizabeth’s letter to Brett’s later action, allowing her mother’s advice to remain active after the letter has been read. Its recurrence also sharpens the contrast between safety and self-direction. Brett first postpones the choice that frightens her; with Andrew, she faces its cost directly. The maxim’s force lies in that progression: it does not remove fear, but helps Brett treat fear as a reason to recognize the stakes rather than as a command to stay still.