Quick Hit on Courage

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”  --Winston Churchill

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about fear and how it impacts so much of our lives right now.

More insights and stories to come.  But let’s start with reinforcing courage (and the different forms it takes), shared in the form of some challenges:

Have courage…..

Have the courage to lead.

Have the courage to listen.

Have the courage to wait.

Have the courage to confront someone you think is wrong.

Have the courage to accept that they might be right.

Have the courage to hold on to what is true.

Have the courage to explore the difficult choice.

Have the courage to do nothing.

Have the courage to try something that you are not entirely sure will work.

Have the courage to recognize someone for having a better idea than you.

Have the courage to be a leader.

Reflection Questions:

• What is an example of courage you’ve felt in dealing with a recent challenge? Did it take a lot of effort to find the courage?

• When was a time you did not do something you knew needed to be done because you could not summon the courage? What stopped you?

• Which situation turned out better for you? 

For a Deeper Dive: 

LISTEN:  Fear Less, episode of the Hidden Brain podcast with neuroscientist Arash Javanbakht.

QUICK READ: 8 Ways to be a Courageous Leader, a brief by Steve Tobak for  Inc. Magazine

QUICK READ: Courage-works, a blog from Brene Brown, the author of Rising Strong and Daring Greatly

BOOK: The Rise: Creativity, The Gift of Failure and the Search for Mastery, an inspiring study by Sarah Lewis