"Heroics is important and we certainly need more heroes, but I think we've lost touch with the idea that speaking honestly and openly about who we are, about what we're feeling, and about our experiences (good and bad) is the definition of courage. Heroics is often about putting our life on the line. Ordinary courage is about putting our vulnerability on the line. In today's world, that's pretty extraordinary." -—Brené Brown, The Gifts of ImperfectionDo you think you're courageous? Brave?
Yes? No? Sometimes? However you feel about it, one thing is for sure:
We all wish we could be braver and have more courage to fearlessly pursue our dreams.
But too often, we fear we "don't have what it takes" to make it all happen.
We fret, we whine, we have meltdowns. We get all tangled up by the inspiring stories about the amazing geniuses who swoop in to restore floundering companies, the overnight successes who seemingly went from being nobodies to millionaires changing the world, the serial entrepreneurs who gave up their six-figure jobs to pursue their passion and wholehearted living, the rebellious spirits who boldly ruffle a lot of feathers and constantly turn industries on their heads...
How could we ever compare? How could we ever match that?
First, courage comes in all shapes and sizes. Second, it's important to remember that you're usually seeing only a part of the story (the happy/exciting parts).
Lately, I've been really getting into writing reminder lists (I really like lists...). Creating one for courage was really important to me since my confidence has a tendency to plummet whenever the going gets tough. Chances are yours does too. So, I'll start by sharing my list.
Courage is...
tackling one problem at a time,
breaking away from the familiar,
persevering in the face of uncertainty,
sharing your fears with the ones you love,
defining your own freedom and happiness,
asking questions about what you don't know,
reaching out for help when you really need it,
being honest and authentic with yourself and others,
fearing for the safety of a dream, but pursuing it anyway,
sharing your creations with the world (or in a blog post ;)
doing what needs to be done NOW and not setting it aside for later,
putting in the endless hours of work without expecting immediate rewards,
accepting that failures happen but never accepting defeat,
saying "no" to the customers that aren't right for you,
telling yourself that you've done all that you can today,
not worrying about making a fool of yourself,
owning up to your mistakes and taking chances,
moving forward even when you're completely lost,
consistently taking action despite the fear.
taking the unpopular route,
embracing your quirks,
thinking differently,
holding onto hope.
Your turn. What does courage mean to you?
"One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest." -—Maya AngelouIf you've done any of the above, you already have more courage than you think. No matter how new or experienced you are, as a creator, you're looking at fear in the face whenever you deliver on your product, create new content, or build anything of value.
I don't know about you but I think that takes a lot of guts. Dontcha think?
<3 Melissa