Continuing to Be Courageous in My Life
One thing I have learnt in my life is that if I want my life to change, I need to do the work – no-one else can do it for me. Yes, it can be challenging. However, when I am in these challenges, I remember to read and re-read the following quote by Brené Brown –
“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy – the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”
Today, I wanted to share with you one way I am continuing to be courageous in my life, even though it is uncomfortable at times. However, before I do that, I just wanted to make sure we are on the same page about courage.
What is Courage?
There are many definitions of courage including –
- “the ability to do something that frightens one; bravery,” and “strength in the face of pain or grief.” ~ Google
- “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.” ~ Dictionary.com
- “the ability to control your fear in a dangerous or difficult situation” and “to be brave and confident enough to do what you believe in” ~ Cambridge Dictionary
- “The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery” ~ Oxford Dictionaries
- “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty” ~ Merriam-Webster Dictionary
- “The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession,confidence, and resolution; bravery.” ~ The Free Dictionary
- The Latin origin of cor means ‘heart’ and middle English denotes the heart, as the seat of feelings.
So looking at the definitions of courage, would you agree it would be useful to have some courage in your toolkit for your life, career/business and your relationships?
One Way I Am Being Courageous In My Life
A few years, ago I made a promise to myself to be my own best friend. Part of that process was to tell the truth about where I was in my life and where I wanted to be. Yes it was (and still is) uncomfortable, however I know it is important if I want to continue to commit to my purpose. Over the years, I have started to see there is a difference between honest and truth. Honouring these differences, has helped me to continue to be courageous in my life.
What is the Difference Being Honest and Telling the Truth?
Normally, when I discuss differences between words, I look up a dictionary. However, when I looked up honest in the Cambridge Dictionary, this is what I found –
“telling the truth or able to be trusted and not likely to steal, cheat, or lie.”
Obviously, this presented a little challenge as they truth was in the definition of honesty. So to clarify, for me, I see them as –
- Honesty – relating to me (i.e.. my thoughts, feelings, judgements, opinions about a situation) and expressing each of these things as accurately as possible, and
- Truth – the accurate facts (i.e. data) representing the reality of a situation.
An example of how I have used honesty and telling the truth in my life follows –
- Honesty – I am feeling guilty about spending so much on groceries this week,
- Truth – I spent $90.80 on groceries and $8.00 of that was on chocolate.
Once I develop awareness around these differences in my life (with my self-compassion of course), I can then consciously choose which steps to take in my life, so that they move me towards my dreams 🙂
Over to You…
I hope this post has given you some insight in to one way I continue to be courageous in my life. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.
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