Add courage to your everyday

I have mentioned already that one of my favorite things about even just the word, courage is that the root of the word is the Latin word for heart. Courage is my favorite virtue, and I thank Maya Angelou for addressing why. She stated, “One isn’t born with courage. One develops it. And you develop it by doing small, courageous things, in the same way that one wouldn’t set out to pick up 100 pound bag of rice. If that was one’s aim, the person would be advised to pick up a five pound bag, and then a ten pound, and then a 20 pound and so forth, until one builds up enough muscle to actually pick up 100 pounds. And that’s the same way with courage. You develop courage by doing courageous things, small things, but things that cost you some exertion- mental and I suppose spiritual exertion.”

I agree with Dr. Angelou in terms of working on the muscle of courage. I also like her, believe that courage is the primal virtue because it needs to take place so the other virtues can become alive. Kindness takes courage, faith takes courage, hope takes courage, justice takes courage and love takes courage, do they not? Courage offers so much to all of us. My first step in flexing the courage muscle has been to utter the vulnerability prayer by Brene Brown, “Give me the courage to show up and let myself be seen.” Other affirmations and positive statements work just the same!

Here are some other ways to add courage to your everyday:
• Courage to listen to your intuition
Everyday make an effort to go with good feelings that come up for you. Feelings of confidence and safety allow us to make good decisions and give us the courage to make decisions that sometimes may go against the status quo.
• Courage to be kind to yourself
Saying no to others and yes to yourself, takes tremendous courage. Learning to say no is a process. Setting boundaries is also a process. Remember to be the center of your own life.
• Courage to dream
The highest level of courage is to be yourself. Courage gives you the freedom to be yourself. In order to do this, we must connect with our purpose and passion. Actively look for things/people/places that inspire you and keep you connected to your dreams.

Every time we step outside our doors we embrace courage whether we are aware of it or not. In this world of uncertainty, nothing is guaranteed. Courage is about mustering up the feeling of intention, purpose and determination. It is about going full force, fully forward even when you may feel afraid. Like Nelson Mandela describes it, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”