Probably one of the single most important traits that seems to keep coming up during my interviews with world class athletes, is being courageous.
If you examine the word “courage” it is from the Old French corage (French: courage), from Latin cor (“heart”). … cardiac (“of the heart”), which basically means, to come from the heart. To act from your heart.
Being courageous has nothing to do with, slick action adventure movie inspired heroes fighting some indomitable force.
This is just a misplaced, inaccurate and often misunderstood version of the truth.
Courage is about doing what you feel in your heart, is right for you, all the while positively benefiting yourself and those around. It’ about facing the challenges in your life and moving forward regardless, because you are motivated by your own inner desire.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that
something else is more important than fear.”
Moreover, being courageous or brave is all about being and doing what is in alignment with your highest good. What is your highest good? Only you know the answer to that question.
Being courageous is not about never feeling fear. No, quite the contrary, being brave, is about, feeling the fear, and doing it despite that feelings.
Everyone on this planet, regardless of their social standing, the athletic gifts, their genetic lottery, their up-bringing, or what have you, we all feel fear, It’s just the extra-ordinary people choose and make the decision to continue on. It’s not that some have a hidden special secret. No, it’s that the brave march forward and continue.
Here are some quick steps that I use to be more courageous in whatever endeavor I am interested in:
1) Know Your Why
You got to know why you are doing what you are doing in the first place. If you don’t know the “why” you may find yourself questioning the very thing(s) you want to achieve in your life. You need to be your biggest fan, your biggest motivator and that starts with truly knowing deep down what matters to you and why you are taking on the things you are taking on. And please don’t ever do things for anyone else. Don’t do something or say something or be someone for the sake of what others may say or do. Other people and conditions are outside of your control. You can only control your sphere of influence and that begins with what’s between your two ears, inside your heart, and your intuitive spirit in your gut. Trust you, follow your instincts.
2) Get The Inner Resolve Right
Once you know your “Why” you will now need to focus on putting all the pieces in place and sometimes, as counter intuitive as it may sound, trusting that the world will work toward your greater good. Sometimes, letting life come to you can also be part of “getting the inner resolve right”. It’s a balance a sort of dance. For me, I am a go getter, an action guy, and as a result I can get impatient. A great example of this was a story I heard the late great Jim Rohn tell, imagine you are a farmer and you are planting seeds, with the hope of a future harvest. You would not go to the seed the very next day and say to it, “Come on now, where’s my fruit?” It doesn’t work like that.
Sometimes you need know when to kick on the after burners and start to work your butt off and other times you need to have faith and trust that you did all you could do in the moment.
Getting your inner resolve right is more strategic in nature. Its observing where you are, and where you want to be, and then finding the resources to get you to where you want to be.
3) Channel Your Energy
Probably one of the purest and most misunderstood emotions is anger or negative emotions. For me, as much as I do not enjoy being angry, I like to use the energy and channel it and watch it transform into creating something more constructive. Negative emotions are there for a reason. They are signs that you are not on course. Heed their warnings and use them to get you back on course. That’s what they are there for. All emotions serve a purpose.
4) Take Action
I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t mention taking action. Tons of action. Its all about, once you have your inner resolve right, you now act. And if what you are doing and being are not getting you closer to where you want to be, than recognize that, stop and observe. Meditation is a wonderful tool to help someone get centered and focus. It is often confused with religious connotations but meditation has nothing to do with formal religion. Meditation is a tool to be in the present and observe. Oftentimes when we are so rushed to get to where we want to go we lose sight of the beautiful and spectacular scenery along the way. Take action and also enjoy the views along the way.
5) Surround Yourself With Like Minded People
No man or woman is an island. We all need some sort of support. Surround yourself with people that share similar views or passions or goals. Synergy is one of the most powerful forces on the planet. When you get together with like minded people all sorts of great things begin to happen.
6) Celebrate
You have to reward yourself, not just when you get your goal but also along the way. Celebrate the mini-victories. You have to have fun, otherwise what the hell are you doing for in the first place if you are not enjoying yourself. Celebrate and have fun.
