Last week I shared the first “Word of the Day” and I think it would be nice to share the word for today as well. This word being: courage.
It’s very easy to say that we’re not courageous people, that we’re “too scared to be courageous”, or that courage is only for the heroes of now. But I kind of disagree with those statements. We all have those things that we’re scared of doing, but we do them regardless because we need to. That takes courage. There are so many courageous people here on the forum who dare to be vulnerable and share their story. To help themselves, but some also share it to help others so they know that they’re not alone. Courage is someone with social anxiety reaching out to talk with someone. Courage is a colleague who asks for help even though they feel that they should know the answer. Courage is also admitting to yourself that the way you respond to things, is not sustainable. Courage is so much more than what we often name it. It’s the parent who lets their kid go to school alone for the first time. It’s the musician who is going to play that concert. It’s the child who shows that they’re hurt because someone pushed them. I personally believe we all have courage inside us, because we all have to step over steps that are scary. So in what way are you showing Courage?
Courage is surviving the immediate situation/trauma by whatever means you have on hand at the moment to resort to, and courage is also when your future self is kind to the past version for making those choices. It’s easy to beat up ourselves and steep in regret and self-hate; it takes courage to break down hatred and turn it into true self-love, and to admit that it was okay to do what we needed to to survive. Courage is saying “I’m not broken, even if I’m struggling.”
thank you for these posts! they really are great to hear the thoughts of others!
Hi nyntje
I think you have made some really good points. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us and for continuing the Word of the Day . I think I am showing courage when I speak my mind openly even though I know people might not like what I´ve got to say.
First off, you can’t be courageous if you’re not afraid. Courage is facing your fears. If two people are sitting next to each other on a plane, and one loves air travel while the other is scared of heights, who’s the more courageous between them?
Also, the first thing I thought of when I saw this was the Serenity Prayer, which helps me get through most days. “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Courage isn’t just the opposite of fear. On a higher level, it’s also the opposite of hesitation–hesitation due to fear, reluctance, not knowing how to do something, maybe even not knowing you need to do something in the first place. It takes courage to act when things are hard, hopeless, or just not very action-inspiring.
I love what @SheetMetalHead said about courage and fear. You don’t need courage when you’re not afraid. I’ve thought of courage as doing what you need to do while still afraid. We may not be able to stop our fears from being there but we can coat them in courage.
This was really beautiful and made me feel really good. I definitely show courage every day. I have severe bipolar disorder and I struggle with suicidal ideation. I’ve attempted three times but the courage lies in the fact that I wake up every fucking day and I push through no matter what my day looks like. I struggle more that the average person to just perform the average task but I get up and I do it anyway.
Also, I don’t let my own issues stop me from helping others in any way. I still show up to swat to help others because I know it makes me feel good.
I am courageous. I am strong. And I fucking got this.
I think I am showing courage by expressing my feelings freely. Also like you said everyone has courage inside them in my opinion. Actually every action requires courage. As an example going outside. Yeah thats so simple for some people. But some people are afraid of that because of few reasons. So yeah I agree to you.
. I think I am showing courage when I speak my mind openly even though I know people might not like what I´ve got to say.