In Ryan Holliday’s Courage is Calling, he says “Courage is renewable.” This can manifest in our normal daily lives. Extenuating circumstances require great courage to overcome and we often hear of the stories of persons of great courage. But, we all need courage in our daily lives to live an authentic life and pursue our goals.
I think manifest is the appropriate word to use for courage. Sometimes we are so scared that we need to manifest the courage to take the courageous path. No one who has ever done something risky has said it was easy to do so. Each person would need to dig deep within themself to find the courage to start their journey. They will need to keep renewing their courage to keep going.
I have never thought of courage as being renewable. This idea on its own is a great relief. We can have the courage now to do the right thing especially when faced with a decision to take an easy path instead of the path that could lead to growth.
You need courage to pursue your goals
Anyone with a goal will have to find the courage to pursue the goal, and to make time, energy and money sacrifices to breathe life into the goal.
We all face obstacles every day in going after a worthwhile goal. “Courage is renewable” means we can overcome those obstacles every time we need to.
In some goal achievement systems, you consider the obstacles that could be thrown onto your path. Some obstacles can be foreseen, others will be a surprise. Each obstacle represents an opportunity for you to manifest courage and to manifest it just when you need it.
Suppose you have signed up for a course at your local university because your next promotion requires it. You need to put in the work for a project for the course. However, you let the internet, phone calls, text messages and scrolling through YouTube distract you. You know you have to do the work. You can call upon courage to work on the project without distractions for one hour every night for the rest of the semester. You can find the courage to ask your family to leave you alone for that one hour.
This might seem a simple example. But, if you’re married to your phone and social media, then putting it away is a courageous step. You need the courage to do the necessary work now instead of stressing yourself out closer to the deadline.
How to renew your courage
So how do you manifest that courage in our normal everyday life?
Focus on what is within your power. To do this, ask yourself what is the next best step. Then ask if this next step is within your control or someone else’s. If it is within your control, then renew your courage and take that step.
What if the step is a big step? What if failing makes you look bad? Then know that you will be able to handle the failure. Maybe facing your fear of public speaking is the courageous thing to do. You know that but you fear you may still not do so well. That is okay. You will be able to renew your courage to put in the work to make a reasonable presentation. And, you will have the courage to face a potential failure.
If the big step has the potential to lead to financial ruin then you need to back the hell away from that step. The courageous thing to do is to acknowledge financial ruin as a real risk that could affect the quality of your life. Courage is renewable and so is your ability to make money. However, you do not need to start from ground zero each time you go after your financial goals.
When we can’t find the courage to take the next step it is because we fear the perceived outcome. But, the outcome is not yet real. You have a 50 % chance of being successful or of failing. You actually need to do the thing you are fearful of and then you will know the outcome.
As Susan Jeffers says in Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, you will be able to handle the outcome. You can handle the outcome regardless of if it is positive or negative.
If you need to further fortify your courage, you can seek it from that higher godly power. I’m not religious but sometimes I ask for the strength to act courageously.
Practice renewing your courage
If you are not in the habit of acting courageously, then most likely you will find yourself stuck in life. I have been there many times. The only way to get out is to not think too much and to take the action you are afraid to take.
Remember, courage is renewable.
To live your authentic life, you have to do three things. The first is to call upon your courage. The second is to believe that you will be fine despite the outcome. The third is to act despite your fear. Do this once and you will find that you can handle the outcome. Then, do it again repeatedly. After at least five tries at the same fear, you will find you can handle anything. Sometimes, you may need more repetitions. That is okay. You would have already proven to yourself that you can renew your courage to act.
If you keep acting courageously, eventually you will no longer need much bravery to do the thing making you afraid. You will simply act because you would have the confidence that you can face your fears.
In the beginning of your new journey, you will need to rely on renewing your courage at every opportunity to live your authentic life.
Photo: Photo by Christine Benton on Unsplash
