The Practice of Fear and Courage

How will I respond when the situation requires me to be brave and honorable?

If my family, friends, coworkers, or neighbors were in trouble

Would I do the right thing?

Would I step up and do what needs to be done?

Or would I walk the other way, turn a blind eye and make excuses?

I'm keenly aware that I've done the latter before; there's a track record of my past performances. I've let people down. There are times in my life when I've been a very well-practiced coward.

On the other hand, there have been moments in my life when I've been courageous. I've engaged in challenging conversations around a boardroom table, stood up to bullies, and put myself at risk to help others. I have my moments!

I've come to understand that fear and fearlessness require practice and modeling. That practice begins in your head. One of the reasons I go for walks every day is that it gives me a chance to think things through. I think about how I will respond to the challenges I'm going through. I don't want to be overly dramatic, but there is something to the idea of playing a fight out in your head before you enter a conflict in real life. Play the fight out in your head with you doing the right thing.

Secondly, we're influenced by what has been modeled for us by others. In some cases, I've been brave because I know what bravery looks like. I have brave parents, and I've worked with leaders who did the right thing for me when it mattered. All of these examples of courage have helped me visualize what it should look like for me to do the right thing when it matters most. Courage grows in community.

I went through a traumatic work experience back in the summer. The experience formed a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life. My company immediately provided counseling and resources to help me recover from the experience. What has helped me process the incident is that I ran towards trouble, not away from it. I did it because I had seen others be brave before. I am grateful for those in my life who modeled courage; parents, mentors, leaders, and managers. In a strange way, they were all with me at that moment. Their example over the years planted seeds of courage in my heart that continue to grow to this day.

Friend, you've had courageous people in your life. Consider their example and remember them the next time you have to do something that's hard. You have it in you to be brave.

Thank you for reading friend, may you have the opportunity to practice courage this week.