TAKE COURAGE LO LOSE

The Latin root of the word courage means heart, bravery, will,
and
spirit. You know when your find your purpose that you must
have
the courage to pursue it. Part of courage is following your
heart,
knowing you are on the right track, even though at times you
might
stray off the track and hit a tree. Overall, you know you’re
heading
in the right direction regardless of minor setbacks. I love what
Aristotle
said about courage: ‘‘Courage is the first human virtue
because
it makes all of the other virtues possible.’’ Most of the time
we think
of courage when there are threats or the possibility of
physical
harm. Facing an individual threat may take courage, but
courage is
a daily attribute needed to influence others to your point of
view.
People need to know you have the courage and heart to do
the things you say you are going to do even if things get
rough. Courage
is part of your charisma.
There is courage in not trying to be nice all the time and
starting
to call people on their weaknesses and challenges. You need
courage
to correct someone or to start that uncomfortable and
awkward
conversation. You need courage to have the confrontation
when
you know it would be easier not to and just hope the problem
will
go away. Helping someone in a time of need when it is not
convenient
for you is another form of courage. Truly charismatic people
will take those risks; they will venture into the unknown and
tackle
the challenges everyone else hopes will go away. Others
always
know that such people will have the courage to do what is
needed
and what is right.
Having courage (or being brave) does not mean you don’t
feel
fear. It just means you have the heart and emotional stability
to
face the fear and do what’s needed anyway. This is a process
of
learning about yourself—who you are and what you are able
to do.
Identifying your weaknesses, changing your habits, and fixing
your
attitude all require personal bravery. Courage is about
helping
yourself and helping other people become better, knowing as
you
grow and help others grow that you could be subject to
criticism.
It is not fun to face our fears. We don’t want to open
ourselves up
for failure, but this is where our courage comes in. Fear and
failure
are all part of your success and influencing others to be more
successful.
When you develop this inner strength, you acknowledge
your fear and the possibility of failure, and you stay on track.
Facing fear could mean stepping up to the plate and making
the
tough decision. You gain respect from everyone when you can
make those tough decisions. This brand of courage breeds
conviction
that will allow you to keep going even when times are rough.
I
am not talking about being stubborn. Part of courage, at
times, is
admitting you were wrong and moving forward.
You need to find the heart, courage, and strength to do two
things. First, stop blaming other people. Not blaming others
enhances
your courage. Sure, blaming someone else is easy, but the
reality is that now is the time to take full ownership. If you
can
place the blame on other people, events, or circumstances,
you can
relieve yourself of the shame and guilt. Don’t delude yourself
with
the apparent comfort that laying blame is going to make
things better. Take full responsibility for every part of your
life, and courage
will develop.
Second, accept failure. How you handle setbacks and failures
will make or break you. When you know you can handle
anything—
even failure—you will develop unlimited courage. When you
are
following your heart and have tapped into your purpose, then
a
little failure will have no effect. There is a big difference
between
failing and being a failure. A failure results from not learning
from
your mistakes and from not using that valuable education to
invest
in your future. Negative and bad things will happen to you;
the
benefit is in how you deal with those turns of events. What
will you
learn from those experiences? How can you use them to
develop
greater courage?