Brave is not reserved just for fighting in wars, although undoubtedly there have been some amazing stories of individual’s bravery in circumstances that many of us would run a mile from.
There are those examples of firefighters or even citizens who do the most amazing things to save others.
Most of this is often an instinctive impulse to save another human being and that’s not to lessen that in any way.
However, the bravery that most of us shun and find hard to do is the bravery needed to face up to our own challenges, our own issues that we have, things that we want to change or start.
This mental bravery, internal bravery, is often the hardest to muster. The mental fears that we need bravery to overcome are often more powerful than the physical fears.
They certainly carry longer lasting angst at times.
Like all of us I have been facing this challenge and from my experiences of being brave to change things in my life, I have realised that bravery is in fact, a habit.
So I have added to my daily success rituals to do one brave thing a day. That doesn’t mean playing chicken with cars on the road, or standing right on the edge of the top of tall buildings.
What it means is I am searching for challenges each day that in the past I have not been brave enough to deal with, could be calling someone, it could be dealing with something in a relationship, it could be sharing something, it could be starting a project, whatever it is, it requires me to step out of my comfort zone and feel vulnerable.
Once the habit gets going, it is not so hard and I certainly have no shortage of things that fear has held me back on doing.
Bravery is not being tough, it’s being prepared to take the shields down and be exposed.
Philip Dodson 