Courage is not a noun.
It isn’t something you can have.
It isn't a fixed, unmoving quantity, or something you need to build up over time.
Courage isn't something some people have while others don't.
It isn't something you can have more or less of.
It isn't some thing at all.
Courage is an action. Courage is a verb.
Courage is an act of the will.
Yesterday my mind and my heart (my emotions) took a dip into a pool of anxiety and fear. The conditions were ripe for it, and I felt it slide into my body, and then my mind did what I trained it to do for so many years: it tried to solve the problem.
But there was no problem to solve! There never really is.
Besides, even if there were a problem to solve, an anxious and fearful mind is NOT our most effective problem-solver.
In that moment of feeling fear and anxiety, I didn’t have courage. What I did have was an experience of fear and a mind about to rev up. And, to be honest, a tad of terror was mixed in there too.
But instead of diving into the mind to fruitlessly solve the problem, I chose to act with courage.
I spoke to my fear and here’s what I said: “I love you. I’ve got room for you. Come on in.”
I put my hands on my chest and I said it again: “I love you. I’ve got room for you. Come on in.”
I acted courageously. I spoke and created courageously.
I didn’t have courage - I created it in my actions.
To relax in the face of potential stress and anxiety is courageous to me. To love my fear is courageous to me.
That experience of fear, anxiety, and terror gripped me for a couple minutes, and then I was beyond it - having loved and welcomed it, it transmuted into something beautiful within me.
5 minutes. That's about how long the experience was, and I enjoyed it! A moment like that could've tanked me for a week in the past.
Yet this time I acted courageously.
Courage is a spiritual act. It’s an acknowledgment of our circumstances, thoughts, and feelings, and then an action beyond them in service of something worthy - something we’re really committed to.
Courage is not a noun. It's not something you or anyone else can have. It's also not an adjective, a description of you or anyone else.
Courage is a choice, and the choice is yours.
Thank you for reading. ❤️
P.S. As a transformational coach - a life coach, a soul coach - I help teens, adults, and organizations move beyond their self-imposed limitations to be their best and feel their best. If you’re interested in finding out how I can support you or your organization, reach out and let’s talk. 💌