I would not describe myself as brave but there are times when I have found the courage to do something that scares me.
This prompted me to wonder if there is a difference between bravery and courage.
From what I learnt I think being brave means rising to a challenge fearlessly, whereas showing courage means rising to a challenge in the presence of fear.
Bravery is generally an innate character trait whereas courage is something we choose to exercise.
Maybe it is worth considering that people whose bravery we have admired were not brave at all but instead they were adept at being courageous.
Here’s 3 ideas on how we might become more courageous:
1. Start small – Courage doesn’t mean acting recklessly, do your research, prepare, take calculated risks. If you try something and it doesn’t work out, don’t see it as failure, see it as feedback and try again using a different approach.
2. Find a partner in practicing being courageous – Whether it is going to the gym or studying or doing a project at work, having someone else to support us and hold us accountable definitely makes it more likely that we’ll persevere.
3. Shrink the fears – Instead of imagining the worst thing that might happen, why not imagine the best possible outcome? Courage has less to overcome if we can make the fear smaller.
What would you add to the list?
Feature Image Credit: Eric Combeau via Unsplash
Sinead Huskisson 