How courageous are you? Whether you would call yourself courageous, or not, we all have the potential for great courage.
The key is to start where you are and not to compare to others, not to judge yourself. What I might find challenging, might to you see like nothing at all.
In his book Courage Is Calling, Ryan Holiday says we should also never question another person’s courage. “Waste not a second questioning another man’s courage. Put that scrutiny solely on your own.”
During 2020 and beyond I learned to love the slow down and the predictability, even though things were uncertain. I have written about this before- I know this time has been good for my nervous system. However, the predictability came with a growing avoidance of anything that looked like disruption to the usual plan. Maybe you have experienced this, too.
A great place to start building courage is to do some things on purpose, little things like doing something a different way than you usually do, changing up your routine in one small way, even taking a different route home. This might not sound like courage, but it is building resilience to change which is an important foundation to solid courage.
Things that take courage are things where there is fear present for us. Becoming resilient creates a mindset that you can handle what happens, regardless of the outcome, which encourages you to move forward and take what might feel like a risk.
Experiment. Ask for support where needed. Get accountability. Find people to join you.
What is something you have always wanted to do, but have not had the courage to do so? What has held you back? How could you prepare a stronger mindset, one that believes that you can be successful?
Using courage to create a better life is a win. Even if you don’t get what you want you gain self respect and wisdom in the trying.
Be prepared, set yourself up for success, be mindful of what you want. Holiday says “Start small on something big.” Just a step can be expansive.