I love the word courage. I love everything that it provokes within me. I love the idea of it and how the word feels as it leaves my mouth. It’s bold, beautiful, wildly endless with opportunity and is a virtue that changes your life. None of the other virtues are achievable without courage. Courage is the main ingredient in creating the life you want because it requires you to move beyond blocks you have placed in front of you. It requires you to push past those negative thoughts that litter your mind and explore into the jungle of your own mind. To explore those places that you have not touched or experienced before.
In order to do so, you will need to equip yourself with the tools of strong resilience and a comfort with the unknown. This is because courage requires getting uncomfortable. To be courageous, you must be willing to let go of other people’s judgments, to find the place within that wants to explore the unseen and unknown.
We all have the capacity to be courageous, yet our desired outcomes will look different. Some people want to jump out of a plane, while others have no desire whatsoever to do such a thing. You must choose where you want to use your courage so that you don’t start taking on things that you don’t actually desire. There is a difference: for one person being courageous might mean choosing to swim in a sea of sharks, while for another, it might mean to post — or not post — something deeply personal on Facebook. Courage is something only you can navigate. No one else can navigate it for you.
Finding your purpose takes courage. It takes so much courage. If you have created a whole life around things that make you feel bland and uninspired, it will take time to pull open those curtains and see that you have been living in someone else’s ideals. It takes courage to look at the patterns of thought you have created, at your ideas, at who you think you are, but if you want to make the most out of this life, if you are ready to change, you have no choice.
I believe that sitting in the seat of courage really wakes you up. Because it can connect you to your deepest fears. It’s like choosing to tell the truth, or looking someone in the eye that has hurt you. Just trying something you’ve never done before. It makes you feel awake and alive when you move towards what scares you. You can also feel that when you choose to look at what thoughts and ideas scare you and continue to move towards them instead of away from them.
It takes courage to use your fear to teach you. It takes courage to move towards the things that scare you. It takes courage to make a different choice. Where is fear holding you back in your life? Where could you use a dose of courage?
I am constantly checking into my fear, and looking for ways that I can use it to apply an ounce of courage that may be stored deep within my stubborn self. It’s taken years of practice, and I now understand that it will be a PRACTICE that I carry with me for my life. The tools I have used to help me connect to my own courage has been a combination of practices, which include: speaking to a dear friend and revealing what I am struggling with, Yoga has been a HUGE part of that for me, choosing to put myself in situations that may be challenging to navigate, breathing deep, quality sleeps, connecting wholeheartedly with my man and sharing things about myself and my thoughts that are not pretty, and reading & studying with teachers that challenge me.
Courage breeds courage, both for ourselves and for others who witness our tiny (or massive) courageous acts. We are all human and stumbling, but there is an authenticity that informs courageous acts that I think everyone can feel, so in facing our individual challenges and questioning our perceived limitations, we give each other permission to stumble and inevitably find our respective greatness. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and it might take several tries to get where we hope one day to be, but the simple act of moving from courage, with intention, points us in a better direction than running or hiding ever will and it contributes to collective momentum.
I’m finding courage everyday to move towards the unknown. I hope you can use your courage to do the same.
with love
Noelle