Courage

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Mark Twain

We talk about courage all the time. It usually comes in terms of mastering yourself or mastering a moment to overcome fear and do what you need to do. Sometimes it’s speaking in public, sometimes it’s riding a roller coaster, sometimes it’s walking into a room full of people we have never met before, and sometimes it’s simply speaking my truth and taking the risk others may not like what we have to say.

It all comes down to the same thing….be bigger than the fear inside. How can we overcome the fear? By understanding it…

Fear is not real. It is something we create in our own mind. That is a tough thing to accept at face value for most people because when in the moment, we can taste it and feel it, it is completely palpable. The truth remains though, It Is Not Real!

Need proof? How many times have been called into your child’s room in the dead of night to do battle with the monsters under the bed? Now, how many times have you actually encountered a monster? How many times have you been scared to death to try something new and then at the end of the experience said, “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” How many times have you been forced to converse with someone who you were intimidated by only to wonder later what the big deal was?

All of these things are created by our imagination. Our minds are powerful tools and sometimes can convince us that what is imagined is real. It can be tough to see beyond it at times. That is where real courage comes in.

Courage is what enables us to deal with these unrealistic fears and the realistic ones too. Firefighters, Police Officers, and Soldiers have real reasons to be fearful but courage allows them to perform their duty in spite of that fear. These are the people who really deserve our respect and our hero worship. To apply the title “hero” to people being paid millions to play a game lessens the contribution people who serve selflessly are making.

The next time you get butterflies in your stomach, look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that with a little bit of courage, you can do anything you set your mind to….remember…there are no monsters under the bed!