E-couragement: Fear and Courage
“One person with courage makes a majority.” Andrew Jackson
Typically, my blogs tell me when they’re ready to be written. To get my attention, sometimes they nudge me; other times they shove me. This one is the latter. Over the last few weeks, this topic has continued to arise whether I’m sitting quietly by myself or having a conversation over coffee. The topic is fear and courage. Both are important along this journey. They are the Yin-Yang that can cause us to live frozen and paralyzed or on fire and in motion. In a strange way, they need each other.
Here are a few resources, on the topic of fear and courage, which have shown up recently:
- I was having lunch with a friend and client. He told me about watching the movie After Earth, starring Will Smith. He then leaned into our conversation and said, “My favorite part is when the main character tells his son: Fear is not real, it is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me; danger is very real. But fear is a choice.” Here’s the link to the movie trailer and quote.
- In October I delivered a message for a local church. At the 4:50 minute mark I begin speaking about how fear and courage play a role in our calling to live out big dreams and ideas in our lives.
- A few weeks ago, I received this blog: Fear the Fear, Feel the Fear from thought leader Seth Godin.
- Here’s a quote I’ve used, for my own encouragement, from bestselling author, T. Harv Eker, “Fear is our greatest obstacle to living happy, peaceful, and powerful lives. The true definition of fear is ‘anticipation of pain.’ Since anticipation is based in the future and the future only exists in our imagination, fear does not exist in reality. It only lives in our head. Therefore, it is our own protective mind that prevents us from taking the actions necessary to attain our dreams.”
- A couple of weeks ago a friend was preparing for her parents 60th wedding anniversary. This was a perfect opportunity to communicate the positive impact her parents have had on so many people. She wrote and delivered a 10-minute speech to an audience of fifty people. Leading up to the event, she was petrified. Afterwards, breathing a sigh of relief, she said, “I’ve never done anything like that before.” This woman is a nurse anesthetist. Day-after-day she literally holds people’s lives within her hands. Yet honoring her parents through a public speech called on all the courage she could gather. She’ll never regret it.
It seems that fear is part of our human experience. To be “fear-less” is unrealistic (and stupid). Although fear is menacing, and at times paralyzing, courage is more powerful than any fear you might imagine. Be ready to recognize fear, politely bid it farewell, and then, armed with your courage, march on toward whatever is calling you forward.
Leave your comments: Where in your life must you summon the courage needed to move beyond fear?