CHALLENGE FEARS, BUILD COURAGE!

Physical Challenges

I must admit, I have been reckless in my life at times.  However, there is something about recklessness that satisfies my need for adventure.  Some of the most stimulating times in my life have come when I have tried to do things that I feared to do. This isn’t to say that I have always recklessly threw myself into situations like parachuting from airplanes when I wasn’t prepared—I choose my challenges carefully. Challenging fears in one area of life builds confidence in other areas of life and helps us move beyond self-imposed limitations.

Something inside us changes when we take action.  “Action” (big or small) reinforces and supports our sense of control.  When we take action, achieving our potential feels possible.  If you have big dreams—consider what your insecurities are.  Really.  Most people avoid this.  I mean who wants to look at their “weaknesses”, right?  But this is exactly where to start.  I remember the first time I had to stand center stage reciting Shakespeare in front of a full house.  I mean, let’s face it Shakespeare is tough enough to understand, let alone say with the right meaning (while wearing leotards to boot!).  It took every ounce of focus and commitment to pull it off.  But in the end it was an amazing feeling.  The real fear, you might ask?  The real fear was fear of rejection.  I conquered the fear that night.  I decided that what I thought of me was more important than what others thought of me when it came to my performance that night.  And afterwards walking to my car, I felt 10 feet tall.  Not ‘ego-tall’, ‘courage-tall’.  When we take on challenges, we create peak experiences to draw upon to overcome future obstacles.

What is Courage?

Courage is the mastery of fear. Courage is strengthened by doing the actual things we fear to do. One of the most effective ways I found to solve a problem is to think of the stupidest thing I could do to solve the problem.  When I did this, the problem lost its power over me— a perception of “impossibility” left, and the feeling of a possible solution became clear.  Courage is developed by embracing challenges, not running from them. Courage builds when you practice the habit of refusing to let fear have a hold over your actions. Growth occurs when you decide to try something new that takes you out of your comfort zone and expands your sense of possibility.

Think of it this way, a challenge is kind of like lifting weights—the bigger the challenge, the heavier the weight.  As does lifting heavy weights make you stronger and able to lift even heavier weights in the future, so goes taking on challenges and bigger challenges to come.  You will find that the more you take on, the easier it is to move forward as new challenges come your way.  This feeling is ‘courage’.

(Coming soon, ‘See past obstacles’)