Being courageous is not about being fearless—reality is, we all feel fear at different times in our lives. It's normal. Courage is not about eliminating fear either. It's about taking action in spite of it. It's about acknowledging your fear and facing it. And, it's about being willing to step outside your comfort zone, again, and again, and again to pursue your goals and dreams.
An essential part of growth and success, courage comes in many guises—taking risks, making difficult decisions, standing up for what you believe in, and facing your fears.
Learning to work with your fear is an integral part of moving forward with courage. Your fear is never going to go away until you do the thing. Sorry. But, it's true. Fear is an innate part of our psyche designed to keep us safe in times of danger. It can however hold us back if we are unwilling to face and feel it. Fear can keep us stuck for hours, days, weeks, years, and even decades. To courageously move forward we must learn to work with our fears.
We have to persevere if we want to be courageous. We won't always reach our goal first time around. We might dip our toe in the water to try it out, then retreat to safety before learning more or being willing to try again. Know that this is okay. Keeping going is the most important thing here.
When you're approaching something new, notice how you feel. Learn to recognise the physical and psychological signs your body gives you. You may have sweaty palms, your heart rate may rise when you think about it, you could get a nervous twitch in your eye, you might feel short of breath and notice that you're breathing in your chest instead of in your belly.
Armed with this knowledge about how you react to fear, you can then combat those with strategies to overcome them. Trying a short breathing session prior to an appointment might help, a quick mindfulness practice, stretching, taking a walk in nature, or listening to a guided meditation. In order to continue to be courageous, be willing to try again and again. No one is perfect, we all stumble, and we all often need to learn things over and over in order to get it right. You are human. And, humans make mistakes.
Look at fear and courageousness as key steps in the personal development process. Without this opportunity in our lives, we would never grow as people. Keep the faith in yourself, and know that no matter how daunting something may seem, you have the courage within you to face it. Over time you will have the experience of building up a 'bank account' of deposits that demonstrate to you that you can indeed face and feel fear, and still proceed with and achieve your deepest desires.
In conclusion, being courageous is an essential quality that we can all cultivate in our lives. It
takes courage to face our fears, overcome obstacles, take risks, and pursue our dreams. By developing our courage, we can grow as individuals, achieve our goals, and live our lives to the fullest. So be bold, be brave, and have the courage to chase your dreams.
With love,
