What A Healthy Dose of Courage Can Do for You
When we think of the term courage, we often consider firefighters or astronauts. We rarely think of ourselves as courageous, because the majority of us live what we believe to be normal lives.
We follow societal norms, abide by the laws, and form a daily routine that we rarely stray from. However, we often forget the role that courage plays in our daily life, and how it can make significant impacts on our success.
What is Courage?
Before we talk about the ways that courage can improve our lives and make us stronger human beings, it is important to understand what courage really is. Courage is the ability to complete something or perform an action that may seem difficult and challenging due to the risk involved.
Courage allows you to move forward with your lives without feeling trapped by fear and surroundings.
Being courageous provides a sense of freedom and confidence that enables you to feel empowered and grow. Without courage, you will feel as if your comfort zone is the only acceptable place to be and you will not live your life to its fullest extent.
According to a Clemson University psychologist named Cynthia Pury, courage can be defined as a quality that can be strengthened through personal development and practice. She argues that courage is a process that allows us to manage our fears and act upon them.
Why is Courage Important?
Having the courage to step out of your comfort zone and take important risks is crucial to your health and happiness. By facing up to the situations at hand and acknowledging ways to deal with them, you have an important sense of psychological courage.
When you have courage, you are able to take accountability for your past mistakes and use them as lessons for the future. You are able to confront any addictions and fears you have by being honest with yourself and the ways you can improve. Rather than feeling an attachment to your addictions and mistakes, you have to build up the courage to let go of them and replace them with healthy habits and lessons in order to live a satisfying life.
It can be very scary to take responsibility for your mistakes and realize your addictions and fears, but this is proven to be the best way to change and let go of them by developing your sense of courage.
2 Ways to Increase Courage
Analyze Your Response and Change it
When you are able to fully understand your physical responses to situations that bring about fear and anxiety, you are able to analyze the ways that you can change them. Once you are able to bring about this sense of clarity, you will be able to take on a practical approach, rather than one that arises from emotion.
When you are faced with situations that scare you, you are able to practice and change your physical and emotional responses. If you practice more relaxed responses, you will feel more confident when a similar situation arises. Over time, you will realize that you are less afraid of these events and will be more prepared to take on your fears in other sectors.
Prepare Your Mind and Body
When you think of things that bring you to fear, it can often bring about minor forms of fear and anxiety within. The things that scare you can be hard to think about, but this is the best way to prepare for them.
By preparing yourself for the way you will react and analyzing the results of these reactions, you will feel empowered and prepared if your feared events eventually occur. Taking these steps to be proactive is a great way to analyze your fears and feel courageous.
