By Bronwyn Ison
Are you living courageously? While you may think you are doing so, perhaps not? Living with courage translates into coming face-to-face with your fears. Facing our fears is daunting. We may have to work through what we have dusted under the rug. It may be that you have deferred this for days, weeks, months, and likely years. If we confront our fears we may believe we will lose a sense of personal security. Simultaneously facing our fears can set us free.
You may have gone or are going through life with the attitude of not bucking the system, not willing to rock the boat. We are hopeful that life will pull us in the right direction. Perhaps, it doesn’t? Remember, you are in the driver’s seat. You need to take the bull by the horns and express your fears and live them out. Write down your fears and number them from one to ten. Ask yourself, how many of these fears. What would your life look like if you lived fearlessly? Possibly you can find comfort in your fears? You will not know until you go there.
Each of us has the little voice inside our heads that reminds us of our trepidations. This annoying roommate in our heads can paralyze us from moving forward with expressing our true self. Often we enable our own fears by not confronting them face-to-face. Conquering your anxieties will propel you to escape bondage. This bondage is the wrestling match you continue to experience with self.
Courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; i.e. bravery. Research tells us that courage is an acquired skill, not an emotional one. Which also means the thinking, neocortex part of the brain overrides the emotional limbic impulses. Build your courage slowly. You do not have to take drastic measures. Do not contemplate there is an exact process to building your courage. Simply be present and conscious of what you are doing. Take your time and allow your courage to blossom organically.
Embrace discovering your courage. You will develop your true purpose. At first you may sense uneasiness. It will not be easy to overcome a world that you have feared for so long. Continue to envision your new sense of liberation.
As you embark on the journey of embracing your newfound courage you may experience failure or rejection. Remember these are the true stepping-stones leading you to your victorious outcome. When you arrive at the top of the mountain, your true strength will resonate insurmountable strength.
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
– Eleanor Roosevelt
