Steeled

Haruyo steeled herself to tell Akiyoshi that she wanted to stop dating him.

He steeled himself against possible failure.

He steeled himself against compassion.

She steeled herself not to cry.

I've steeled myself to face a certain amount of sacrifice, effort and hardship if that's what it takes to fulfill my dream.

I steeled myself before getting the injection.

I steeled myself to fork over $50.