Musings | Fear and Courage
“Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.”
In her Ted Talk, “The beautiful balance between courage and fear,” Cara E. Yar Khan reminds us that “life is really just a lesson in finding the balance between fear and courage and understanding what is and isn’t a good idea.” She also tells us that “without fear, we’ll do foolish things, and without courage, we’ll never step into the unknown.” Her talk was released before COVID in December 2019.
At present, many of us are experiencing elements of fear daily, and, I think, unbeknownst to most people, most of us are demonstrating quiet courage daily. A healthy dose of fear may be helpful for us, as it can both prevent us from doing foolish things and help us take precautions seriously. However, when fear paralyzes us, we need to recognize fear for what it is and take steps to relax its grip on our thoughts.
One way to calm fear is to harness your courage to act, to moderate your fear with courage. Enter the courage quotient. Courage can be defined as your willingness to act over your ability to control fear. Courage does not need to be loud or carried out with bravado. It can be quiet and subtle. Courage does not mean you are acting without fear; but instead, you feel the fear and act despite it. Over time, little acts of courage can not only fight fear but grow confidence as well.
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Your willingness to act does not need to be significantly greater than your fear; it just needs to be big enough to overcome it. Here are some simple examples:
Courage is being honest with yourself about how you feel and what you need.
Courage is feeling afraid of venturing out into public spaces but taking precautions to stay safe and minimize risk (i.e., wearing a mask, physical distancing, washing/sanitizing hands).
Courage is taking action to alter the way we live to stay safe during the pandemic.
Courage acknowledges that things are uncertain and that life can be scary while demonstrating a willingness to move forward, adapt and iterate repeatedly and again.
Courage is trying something new. Courage is learning from mistakes.
When we act, even in small ways, we show courage. Remember, whether you recognize it or not, you are courageous every day. Bit by bit, you can chip away at your fear, release your courage, and continue onward.