We all have moments in our lives where circumstances feel particularly hard. When problems seem really big and everything can feel overwhelming and scary. Right now we are living in a moment where this can especially true. How do we engage with our lives when everything feels so risky?
In situations like this, fear is not only normal, but healthy. Fear teaches us that there is something we need to pay attention to and it pushes us to make hard choices. When we feel afraid, our instinct is often to protect ourselves, either by ignoring our feelings or by moving away from the source.
This is where we can look to our courage. Courage is what allows us to stop, get very quiet, and listen to our fear so that we can try to understand what it is trying to tell us. Our courage also helps us to identify what is valuable to us and to hold those priorities side by side our fear. Our courage acknowledges risks and helps us look for a careful way forward that is aligned with what is important to us.
Courage involves awareness. It acknowledges when a path we have chosen is faulty and when we must adapt. But it also allows us to keep our sights on our ultimate values. In this way courage allows us to keep moving forward, even if the progress is slow and looks differently than we may have expected.
Where in your life are you using your courage right now?