How to Develop More Courage
In order to achieve your goals and to make your dreams come true, the most vital thing needed is courage. The biggest hurdle preventing you from achieving goals and reaching your desired destination is fear.
Fear can cost you a lot. Fear can impact your self-confidence. It may distract your attention from achieving something worthy. It may even badly affect your health and most probably your wealth too.
Courage is a tool that can help bear greater risks and in return provide significant gains. Courage will help you initiate activities despite of fear, and put you on a path of growth and learning.
Courage = the ability to take more risks = more growth and learning = personal success.
It’s a powerful formula if you know how to leverage fear to your advantage.
Fear Can Be Your Friend
Fear is a feeling, developed because of a chemical reaction. It is often not real but rather fabricated by our imaginations, limited thinking and insecurities.
It depends on us on how we use this chemical reaction, either to our advantage or detriment.
To boost your courage, you can learn to use your fears in a positive way so that it can give you maximum benefits and advantages.
The first belief to break from is that fear is tied to disastrous outcomes. There are some good fears too. Let’s look at an example.
Imagine you have to fulfill a task for a very well trusted client. If the deadline isn’t met, the fear of losing that client will automatically trigger you to remain active and do what it takes to finish the task on time.
Similarly, if you have a presentation the next day, your fear of doing a poor job might help you to invest in more practice. When it comes to fear always try to figure out the intensity and appropriate logical way to solve it efficiently.
Stretch Your Comfort Zone
Going above and beyond your comfort zone, in order to stretch what you are currently capable of doing, is not easy. Fear and anxiety are key symptoms of going outside your comfort zone.
“Nothing truly exciting happens in life, until you go beyond your comfort zone. Want to grow? Learn to love being uncomfortable.”
Once you step out of your comfort zone you develop more courage gradually. Stepping out of your comfort zone will present you with various unexpected situations and scenarios. This is the point where fear kicks in because handling unexpected situations is usually a next level task where a lot of courage is needed to cope with the anxiety of stretching beyond your current capabilities.
Start by taking small steps. Courage cannot be developed overnight. Asking for help is a great way to practice expanding your courage. The short conversations you start having with those willing to help you, can turn over time into longer deep dives with peers, University fellows, friends of friends, and so on.
“The simple act of asking for help expands your courage and helps you stretch beyond your comfort zone in a healthy and safe way.”
Knowing your limits and behaving accordingly will also help in developing your courage. It’s not always unexpected and strange things that require us to face them courageously, but rather courage is also demanded to let things be that are not within your control. Letting things unfold naturally and patiently will also boost your courage.
Accept Your Imperfections
No human is perfect in this world. Making mistakes is a part of life. Be bold enough to accept your mistakes and never ever hesitate to apologize for your actions or words which may have hurt someone’s feelings and emotions.
Relationships also play a key role in boosting your courage, and the best relationships are based on mutual authenticity and vulnerability. The more real you are with someone, the more courage you develop to speak your truth.
Be Mindful
Some people are naturally mindful as if they have inherited the trait genetically, while other people learn through practice and hard work.
Mindfulness means having a full mind actively present. If you are not a mindful type person, don’t worry.
Meditation will help you in learning how to be mindful. Find a quiet and peaceful place free of distractions. Sit there for almost 20 minutes and focus on your ‘in’ and ‘out’ of breathing. Try not to think of anything else in those 20 minutes of meditation. Meditation can be done anywhere but it will be more helpful if done in a quiet place.
Mindfulness and the practice of meditation will help you to overcome your fear very courageously. For example, during medication the emotion of fear can be attributed to just a chemical reaction triggered by a thought, and with more self-awareness you can begin to remove the value given to it.
Meditation is a great way to hack a recurring thought that is triggering fears, that isn’t based on reality, and neutralize it.
Own Your Self-Worth
The most effective way to practice being courageous is learning to say “no” and always give importance to your needs first. Not having a habit of saying “no” will lead you towards a miserable life where making others happy will leave your own happiness behind.
Never underestimate yourself and never ever tolerate negative and toxic people around you. There should be no room in your heart for such people who don’t even think before bashing someone’s confidence and ultimately their courage.
I want to make it clear that there is no magic pill to boost your courage within a day. Hard work, passion and a lot of patience is needed. A lot of practice, meditation and regularly going beyond your comfort zone can get you the desired results.
Once you understand the real meaning of fear and the process of this chemical reaction, you’ll start taking advantage of it knowing that it is not real, but instead, it is self-made and fabricated.
Never let your fears hold the steering wheel that will deviate you from your path towards courage. Stay confident and motivated, believe in yourself and don’t forget to ask for help.
