A Story About Courage We Can All Relate To

I recently met with a person who began to develop a beautiful vision of life on a ranch home, having parties with family, and finding a partner to share this with.  Her excitement was contagious as she expressed these passionate desires.  It was clear that these were more than some splendid thoughts, she was speaking from her heart.  She shared many starting points from which she could take action, contacts in real estate, ways to meet people, time to research and learn more.  Then after expressing all this excitement, she told me in a solemn voice – ‘I am not sure I want to get started – what if I look and find the perfect place and I need to make a decision?’

The conversation continued, ‘I’d have to move, I’d probably have to quit my job or transfer to a new location, what if it turns out not to be what I expected…’.  Etcetera, Etcetera.  The energy was sucked out of the room as soon as her head got involved with the process and within a matter of seconds she’d talked herself out of her dreams.  

What happens next will be her decision and her future is not yet written.  Time will tell if she’s willing to take the risk and muster up the courage to create the reality that she so clearly longs for.  One can only hope that seeing the way and feeling the excitement is enough to overcome the doubt and worries.

Life Coaching and Courage

In coaching I see this all the time.  Excitement, passion, our true essence gives way to the thoughts that limit our potential.  It happens to all of us, even to those of us that are highly conscious of our life goals and of our own limiting self talk!  The role of a coach, a mentor, or a friend supporting another in becoming courageous is that of a guide that helps this person see for themselves what it is that they truly want.  How do you do this?  You see beyond the conversation and into the soul.  You see what brings about the smiles, the tranquility, and steady, deep breathing.  It is in those moments that one realizes what really matters, those are the seeds from which courageous action grow. 

The Opposite of Courage

The opposite of courage is inaction.  An unwillingness to change.  Becoming stagnant when one is not 100% satisfied with every aspect of their life (and unless you’ve reached continuous enlightenment, you, like I fall into this category).  The opposite of courage is recognizing the path forward and choosing not to participate in that path.  It is found in waiting for a better time to start, when life is less complicated, when I get through this current emotional blip, when I finish off this project which requires my time, but not my heart. 

Courage is Change

Courage is action directed towards your life goals that push you beyond the point of comfort.  That may be a state of excitement, exhilaration, fear, wonder, amazement, disappointment, joy.  It is experiencing life, rather than succumbing to the routine. 

I’ll never forget upon entering college, a new friend of mine (who happened to have a lot more courage to try new things than I at the time), told me to ‘live a little’ when I was reluctant to try some new things.  He only said this once and probably forgot he said it the next day.  But now, nearly two decades later, I carry that simple quote with me as a reminder to be courageous.  Are you Living a Little?

Courage and Aging

As a young child, we are courageous.  Exploring the world, climbing to new heights (quite literally, climbing up sofa’s high chairs etc. that can petrify parents!) and we think little about consequence.  With this unprecedented courage we learn to walk, to talk, to exist in a new and enormous world. 

When we age, our life view changes.  As young adults, we start life modestly.  Few possessions, high amounts of freedom, and the willingness to take risks that our more settled counterparts typically wouldn’t take.  As we accumulate, we become attached to the things we ‘own’, and it takes more and more courage to disassociate ourselves from our things.  Seemingly the risks go up, our attachments to people and possessions go up, and our willingness to take courageous action goes down.  The stakes are now high.  Or so it seems.

And this leads us back to the woman who is afraid to follow her dreams because they might just come true.  Wouldn’t it be terrible if they did?  Are you being courageous in your life? 

Be Well

Related Articles:

• How to Write a Vision Statement
• Develop Your Intuition
• Why do I act the way I do? How can I change this?
• Conquering Monkey Mind
• Creating Unparalleled Success