A 16 Guidelines view on
Courage
Courage is about stretch. It’s about seeing, feeling or realizing that something more or different can be done, developing the determination to do it, and then carrying through despite all obstacles. We know in our bodies when we’ve been courageous. There is a glow of satisfaction and relief. Something has shifted, and we have grown in size.
Courage is not defined by what we do, but what we overcome within ourselves. It comes in many forms. It is found in a steady approach to everyday difficulties as well as in the single spontaneous gesture. It is happening quietly all around us as well as in the news.
Courage involves acknowledging our fears, but not being deterred from offering something that goes beyond our own immediate needs and comfort. Most courageous people have decided that the well-being of others is more important than their own, and have allowed this decision to drive their actions and the way they live. Invariably, they seem to find their own happiness in the process.
Courage
To accept responsibilities and challenges with determination and equanimity
A reflection on
Courage
The benefits of
Courage
go beyond our own immediate needs and comforts
develop the strength to respond constructively to whatever life throws at us
discover who we really are, through confronting and learning from fears and challenges
Did you know?
A key principle of heroism is that heroes are most effective not alone but in a network. According to research by Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology at Stanford University and president of the Heroic Imagination Project, it’s through forming networks that people have the resources to bring their heroic impulses to life.
A study at Weizman Institute of Science concluded that fear manifests itself in two ways – either you say: “I’m afraid,” or your body says it for you, with sweat. Scientists found that as long as these two disagree, you would act courageously. It is only when you scored high on both, sweat and fear, that you would be less likely to act courageously.
‘The world is a dangerous place; not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.’
Albert Einstein
‘Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage’
Anais Nin