Help me to stop saying 'Man up!'?

I often utter the phrase 'Man up', or I talk about 'taking it like a man' or earning 'man points' (that last one, not so much, but I hear it still). I don't want to keep doing this, for obvious reasons; It's a bad habit, but I find myself saying it anyway.

Is there a better way of getting across that I'm 'manning up' or I expect someone else to 'man up'? Could I replace 'man' in those phrases with some other word, X and say something like 'Taking it like a(n) X'? Or should I just use a different phrase?

Solution 1:

"Man up" is one of those phrases that can be intended to mean so many different things. Sometimes there is an intention to refer to a 'male' stereotype, sometimes there isn't. It sounds like you are looking for the latter. Here are some possibilities to start you off...

Get/grow a spine.
Stand up for yourself.
Assert yourself.

etc.

Solution 2:

The concept is take responsibility, so why not say it.

Supplement

In light of comment, consider steel yourself

to force yourself to get ready to do something unpleasant or difficult: [+ to infinitive] She steeled herself to jump out of the plane.

Cambridge Dictionaries Online

Solution 3:

Buck up. A term used to make Troops bear their pain (Military speak).

Solution 4:

Suck it up.

To put up with something; to deal with something, such as pain or misfortune, without complaining. (Wiktionary)

Still perhaps not a great line for polite society, but it does avoid the gender issue.

Solution 5:

This is very nearly as obnoxious, and it only works for one phrase, but a good drop-in replacement for "man up" might be "step up", which is defined by Merriam-Webster as "to come forward (stepped up to claim responsibility) : to succeed in meeting a challenge".