Mostly yes, you can act counter to your beliefs for a short time, especially for a specific reason, without changing; but your actions over time, especially your routine and unforced actions are who you are. If you are not that way to begin with, you will gradually change to match your actions.
Cowardice is lacking in courage; that is you do not act with integrity when it would be difficult to maintain your integrity. And integrity is acting in concert with your beliefs (at least for me, given the apparent importance of signalling and status motivations to neurotypicals, I have no idea what it may mean to most of you). But courage is NOT bravery; there is no benefit in any modern Western nation to “defiant acts” no matter the odds (Heinlein defined bravery, as opposed to courage, as “a defiant act against great odds”). My primary goal is my survival; there are people and goals I would take risks, even of my life, for, but nothing I would sacrifice it for. So doing anything necessary to survive would not be cowardly for me, it serves my highest values.
“How you act is who you are.”
Mostly yes, you can act counter to your beliefs for a short time, especially for a specific reason, without changing; but your actions over time, especially your routine and unforced actions are who you are. If you are not that way to begin with, you will gradually change to match your actions.
Cowardice is lacking in courage; that is you do not act with integrity when it would be difficult to maintain your integrity. And integrity is acting in concert with your beliefs (at least for me, given the apparent importance of signalling and status motivations to neurotypicals, I have no idea what it may mean to most of you). But courage is NOT bravery; there is no benefit in any modern Western nation to “defiant acts” no matter the odds (Heinlein defined bravery, as opposed to courage, as “a defiant act against great odds”). My primary goal is my survival; there are people and goals I would take risks, even of my life, for, but nothing I would sacrifice it for. So doing anything necessary to survive would not be cowardly for me, it serves my highest values.