Be Brave: The Little Book of Courage

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Consistent, positive self-talk will build your confidence and your ability to overcome your fears. 4. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable If you make it a habit of avoiding stressful situations, you’re going to become less and less courageous. You’re so afraid of the consequences that you might suffer by taking action that you don’t make a move at all.

Courage doesn’t mean donning a superhero cape or bungee jumping off a bridge. It also doesn’t mean that you’re never afraid of anything. Understand that being brave doesn’t mean being fearless, but instead taking action while being afraid. Learning to accept what’s out of your control and just go with flow. As a result, you’ll grow more adaptable, and being able to change direction when necessary will instill even more bravery in your heart. Do you ever wonder how some people seem so comfortable trying new things? Or how others are always down for exciting adventures, while the mere idea of changing up your morning routine gets your heart racing? If you want to get fit, be intentional about maintaining a consistent workout schedule and buying healthier foods at the grocery store.After developing a technique to handle your fear, you will eventually have to treat it face-to-face. All the practicing you did, all the stories you gained inspiration from boil down to this. Many times, people don't pursue their career dreams because they suffer from imposter syndrome and think they're not good enough. You can move past this negative thinking by focusing on the great ideas and skills you bring to the table. With a positive mindset and confidence in yourself, you'll be able to have the courage to raise your hand for the leadership roles or other professional responsibilities and challenges that you want. How to be brave: 8 strategies to muster your adventurous spirit and conquer your fears One of the most important things you can do to combat fear and be braver in your life is to pay attention to what is going on for you right now. Even a little bit of bravery can pay dividends when it comes to your personal passions and relationships. But, there's a big payoff for your career as well. Bravery can lead you down an ambitious and more fulfilling career path. You just force your body to take the action you want it to take, knowing that the mind will follow when you get your feet wet.

There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.

Know the situation. Classic business systems (think: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) require you to assess the likelihood of failure and the potential negative effects. For actions that aren’t likely to succeed, and which may have potentially damaging effects, you’ll want to ensure you have contingency plans in place. Stay informed about potential risks and know the downsides involved in your choices. Your own awareness is part of your resilience. When you’re in the know, you can make sense of things, improvise and solve problems. Be intentional about your responses. Clarity and smart choices will contribute to your courage, but also to your successful outcomes. Knowing what you’re afraid of helps you deal with these emotions. You get to understand what is causing it and when you do, it’s much easier to see that your fears can be mitigated. Pave your way, slowly but surely, to your “end goal.” This can be the thing you are most afraid of. These milestones will not only remind you of your steady progress, but will also act as another training platform for you. 13) Do the things that you can do right now For example, if we have long wanted to take someone to court for something awful that happened to us as a child, that’s a great reason to find your bravery. But to suddenly decide to do that three months into your first pregnancy, when you need to be calm and healthy, that might self-sabotage. 6. Ask good questions.

For example, if you finally drop out of that university course you hate but your parents wanted you to take, they might be really angry. They might not talk to you for a few months. Can you survive that? Is it possible that it is not as life or death as you’ve convinced yourself? And is it better or worse than waking up each day with a sense of dread? 10. Be willing to do a terrible job of it. If you can shake the feeling of being afraid to fail, you can move mountains. Be willing to try and try again and do different things if necessary.Remember to keep your self-affirmations focused on, well, yourself. Remember that you can't control others. For example, a helpful self-affirmation could look like this: “I will do my best today to manage my fears. I can't do more than my best. I can't control how others act or respond to me.” Having a set of values that you can stand by no matter what can actually make hard decisions quite simple. Knowing what you’re willing to sacrifice (and what you’re not) helps to put everything in perspective.

Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life. Ultimately, the best way to be courageous is to just do what makes you scared. Take a deep breath and do the brave thing. You can plan all you want, find the right mentors, and put yourself in the right mindset, but if you never jump into a brave decision, you’ll never have courage. Rather than try to run from what you are feeling, let yourself feel it. Don’t try to get out of your own way and remember that fear is a part of life. Even artists, industry leaders, politicians, and other famous people have similar fears as everyone else.When you try to escape the fear, you experience anxiety. That rush of just wanting to get out of the situation you are in and get to the better situation (you hope) that is just around the corner.