Take the bull by the horns Neutral

To deal with a difficult or risky situation directly, decisively, and with courage, rather than avoiding it.

It’s typically used approvingly, praising someone for confronting a problem head-on instead of delaying or hoping it resolves itself.

The idiom is recorded in English by 1711, notably in the writing of Jonathan Swift, and draws on the literal image of physically grabbing a bull’s horns to wrestle it into submission — an act that requires both nerve and strength, since a bull’s horns are also its main weapon. Contrary to a popular claim that the phrase comes from American rodeo culture, the English expression predates organized American rodeo by well over a century; rodeo as a competitive sport only developed in the American West in the second half of the 19th century. The imagery more plausibly reflects a much older and more widespread rural experience of handling cattle — including practices like using the horns to physically restrain an animal during branding or veterinary treatment — with parallels in both English and Iberian farming traditions.

Instead of waiting for the problem to fix itself, she decided to take the bull by the horns.

The company was losing money, so the new manager took the bull by the horns and cut costs immediately.

You need to take the bull by the horns and have that conversation with him.

A: Are you going to keep avoiding this? B: No, I’m taking the bull by the horns tomorrow.