“I wish I had the courage to…”
Courage is defined as the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” When you were young, courage might’ve looked like asking a date to the prom, or gearing up for your role in the school play.
Nowadays, courage takes the form of standing up to your coworkers or giving a presentation in front of your superiors. We often find ourselves saying, “I wish I had the courage to …” but it’s time to turn that into “I had the courage to.”
Facing Your Fears
Kate Swoboda, better known as “Kate Courageous,” author of The Courage Habit and expert on all things building courage claims that, “making courage a habit in our careers starts with actually seeing where fear-based patterns have taken hold.”
In her interview with Forbes, Swoboda asserts that pinpointing where your fears are coming from is the key to overcoming them. Once you recognize and legitimize your fears it will then allow you to address them accordingly. Not sure how to face your fears? SUCCESS has a few pointers.
Get Knocked Down, Get Back Up Again
Failure: the thing that we will do anything to keep from happening, and actively avoid at all costs. According to The World Bank, 33% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 are afraid of failure. However, when we’re talking about being courageous, failure and courage go hand in hand.
The sooner you realize that failure is a necessary part of life, and an integral part of your own growth, will you have the courage to accept failure as a learning experience.
Not Into it? Just say No
Picture this: You get home from a long, hard day at work and all you want to do is curl up on the couch and pick up where you left off on the latest show you are binging. Just as you’re walking in the door, your friend asks you to meet them for happy hour halfway across town. What do you do?
We’ve all been at this crossroads before, and more often than not we just agree to whatever our friends are doing, even if it’s not something we really want to do. The solution? Just say no. One of Inc.’s 12 Habits of Genuinely Courageous People includes the power of saying no.
Learning to say no will not only make you more courageous but will earn you the respect of those around you. So go for it, say no to your fears, and yes to building courage!
