What if courage was a skill that could be practiced rather than something you were either borne with or not ?

It took me a while to understand that the courage I so admired in other people was something I also had access to, simply because I had been taught to believe courage was something you were either born with or not…and I was in that ‘not’ category.

So what if courage was something anyone could practice at any time ? How would you ? What would that look like ?

Courage is a choice to follow your dream rather than believe your fear

  • So feed your dream, get obsessed by it, want that more than you are scared of staying where you are. Because courage is not the absence of fear, it is the choice to follow your dream in spite of the fear. It is the choice that something else is more important than the fear.

You can’t have courage without fear

  • You just can’t. We have been taught to hate and reject fear. We have been taught to battle and fight fear, but what if you didn’t have to do any of that ? What if courage wasn’t hard ? What if courage wasn’t about fighting fear ? What if all courage was is a choice to acknowledge and accept your fear as a natural part of dreaming ? What if you could act anyway ?

You already live with Courage, you just need to look for it

  • For some reason we seem to think that courage is something big and brave and obvious, but courage is getting up in the morning and going to work even though your boss hates you and you know you are going to get into another fight. Courage is phoning your ex, again, to get the maintenance money so your child can get what he deserves. Courage is phoning a friend to apologise afraid of being rejected. You have lived your entire life with courage already, so why not start to use that courage to create your dreams

Courage takes practice, and many small steps are as valid as one giant one.

  • Your dreams are normally outside your comfort zone and it takes courage to get you into that uncomfortable space. But that practice doesn’t have to be a huge step, it can be a small one, something that scares you a little rather than a lot. Courage is not measured on the size of the step, but on the ability to take a step

Steps to Create Courage

1)      WANT IT!! Be clear on your dream, the place on the other side of the fear. Imagine it to be point where you can almost live it. You have to want ‘that’ more than you want ‘here’, only then will you be motivated to face your fear and move.

2)      SMALL STEPS – Find the small steps that scare you just a little and do those

3)      SUPPORT – Make sure you have support. Courage isn’t about stepping out there with no protection, courage is about doing what needs to be done to get where you want to go, emphasis on GETTING THERE! So, what would you need to put in place to feel supported ? Do you have a back up and out plan if it all goes wrong ?

4)      CONNECT TO SAFETY. Keep connected to your comfort zone. I imagine it like a rope that always connects me back to where I feel safe. I can return any time I want and just the option of being able to retreat is often enough to keep me out there.

5)      RETREAT – Retreat, recover, re-plan and try again! No-one said you had to get it right the first time. If the step you chose is too big, retreat, recover, re-plan and try again.

Courage can be practiced, just remember that courage is action in spite of fear! Courage is a skill! Courage is a choice!

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