What Is Courage?
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
What Is Courage?
The dictionary defines courage as:
“The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.”
I was recently reading some Christian devotional readings on the topic of courage.
The writer talked of a pastor who kept a card in his desk that read: “Dream no small dreams, for they stir not the hearts of men.”
That is a powerful truth for anyone that is leading other people in any way. If you want to lead or influence others, you have to have a dream that is bigger than you! That is where courage comes into play. It is showing people that you are taking steps towards something that scares the pants off you, but you’re going for it anyway.
Some of the greatest movies and stories that move us all are those where men and women are courageous and go forward in the face of danger. We are always whipped up by the speeches before the battle scenes where the leader stirs up courage in the hearts of his men. I love films like ‘Gladiator’, ‘Lord of the Rings’, ’300′ and others where the battle seems impossible and a few brave men face a vast army.
Without courage we wouldn’t have some of these great movies. For me stories about courage are the most compelling!
So…
What Is Courage?
Susan Jeffers used the phrase, ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’.
I think this is a great way to describe courage. Feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
I was listening to a fellow Empower member called Aaron Rashkin and he said something that his sponsor challenged had him with when he was procrastinating on a decision. He said to him,
“Do the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable.”
That really struck with me because it rang true when it comes to having courage. Courage is doing those things which often feel highly uncomfortable. But taking it that step further and functioning in the midst of that discomfort until it ceases to be uncomfortable anymore.
So what is that uncomfortable and scary dream that you hold in your heart? What is that thing that you know if you achieve it will bring great success, blessing, accomplishment or breakthrough in your life?
Whatever it is, you have to build up your courage and go for it!
It is that thing that you know when you speak it in certain circles, you will be ridiculed for even considering it. It is that thing that people that know you will be quick to shoot you down for suggesting.
Feel the fear and do it anyway!
In the series I was reading on courage, the writer concludes by saying that there are two big questions that face you in this situation. One is: ‘What needs to be done?’ The other is: ‘How are you going to do it?’ The writer suggests that we should focus on the ‘what’ and let let the ‘how’ follow!
This means, don’t mess about trying to work out the ins and outs of how will work. Just get into it and let the smaller details surface as you progress. This doesn’t negate some degree of planning, but it does eliminate futile conversations that you have with yourself, where you continually convince yourself not to go for it.
Make a start today!
Ask yourself today, what is your story going to be? Is it going to be one where you set out to defy the odds? Or one where you look back in regret that let the ‘How’ question dominate your life!
Forget the dictionary definition!
In your life…