Photo Brett Wilson
What are you grateful for today? What’s the first thing that comes to mind that you are thankful for?
This is always a good place to start our meditation practice.
On Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, we celebrate the gift of Courage, for which I am truly grateful.
If it weren’t for the courage of leaders like Dr. King, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and a host of unnamed others, so many of the freedoms and benefits and pleasures we enjoy today would not be available to us.
Did you know that “Fear not!” is the most repeated command in the Bible? 366 to be exact; one for every day of the year plus leap year! This should be encouraging. Literally!
So what is Courage? What does it look like and how do we attain it?
Let me start by saying, courage is not the lack of fear. It is the willingness to act in the face of fear; an acknowledgment of the fear and then, “fearing not”, so to speak.
Philosopher, Brian Johnson, founder and CEO of the company Heroic, and the creator of Optimize says,
“Of all our basic virtues, courage is the one that helps us to live exactly the way we want and provides the psychological fuel we need to create, take risks, help others, and face hard times.”
Put another way, Socrates said that a person is courageous “whose spirit retains in pleasure and in pain, the commands of reason about what he ought or ought not to fear.”
Courage comes from the Latin word for “Heart”. And just like the heart pumps blood to your organs throughout your body, Courage pumps energy to your other Virtues of Well-Being.
If you’re a regular listener to this podcast, you’ve probably made the decision to step out of your comfort zone to become the best version of yourself. It takes courage to make the decision to set out on a new and risky adventure. Like Indiana Jones, you don’t know what dangers await…be it quicksand, rockslides, poisonous snakes and precarious twists of the road…all the scary unknowns you will have to face on your journey of Personal Transformation, figuratively speaking of course. But you have decided in advance to face those unknowns with courage. Right?
According to the “Indiana Jones of psychology”, Robert Biswas Diener, author of the book The Courage Quotient, the definition of Courage contains two primary internal elements: It is
“The willingness to act, and the ability to control fear.”
He says, “When you can successfully curb your fears, and boost your ability to take action, you are better able to live a full and virtuous life. You are more likely to face challenges with grace, connect with and inspire others, and be a force for good.”
If you are like me, and struggle with fear of one kind or another, I want to help you see that you have more courage than you realize. We need to look back in our past and remember that, like the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz, we have demonstrated courage in some of our darkest moments.
So…it’s important to remember all the moments in life when you faced your fears and overcame your situation with courage. You can do this in your quiet time as you meditate. Take some time today to remember and picture yourself doing this.
Another thing you can do to cultivate Courage is to create a courageous “role” for yourself; a persona of a person whose courage you admire.
Todd Herman, in his book The Alter Ego Effect, dressed kids up in Batman or Dora the Explorer outfits, and observed that it dramatically boosted their courage. They were more gritty and persistent in going after their goals.
Another interesting study, conducted by Ellen Langor in her Harvard lab, called “The Psychology of Possibility”, dressed ordinary adults up like Air Force pilots and tested their eyesight. She discovered that just by dressing the part dramatically improved their vision.
That is wild! There is amazing power in the imagination and role-playing.
Revisiting The Courage Quotient, remember, Courage contains two primary internal elements: It is the “The willingness to act, and the ability to control fear.”
Willingness to act begins by developing a New Narrative; an inner dialog of Affirmations we learn and remember by repetition. So the next time you feel fear begin to overshadow you and keep you from taking a next step towards being your best self, you can try saying things to yourself like,
“I face my fears with courage. Anything is possible. What if it all works out? What if goes right? Fear is an illusion of the mind. I set myself free from the fearful stories in my mind. I have access to all solutions and answers. There is nothing to fear.”
MEDITATION
Questions to ask ourselves:
“What is one area of my life where I know that fear is holding me back and keeping me from accomplishing something I really want to do?”
“What can I do to boost or pump up my willingness to act? And, ‘What tools can I use to successfully curb my fears?’”
“When was a time I courageously faced my fears in order to get accomplish something I wanted?” “How can I see all those times in my past when I have demonstrated courage in the presence of fear?”
Quote for the Day:
“It matters not how straight the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.”
~ William Ernest Henley – Invictus
RESOURCES
The Courage Quotient by Robert Biswas Diener
The Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman
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