instead of burying them under your fears. Once you have identified an impulse to be courageous, see what happens if you follow through and act on it. Now that is serious daring!
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One of the things that strikes the most fear in people is change. It is very difficult to give up the familiar, even if it’s not very good. At least you know what you’re getting when you stick with what you’ve got. It is sort of a paradox, though, because change is actually more stable than staying the same. You can resist change with everything you’ve got, but you will never be able to maintain your lack of movement for very long.
How is it possible that change is stable? The stability of the world depends on the fact that it is constantly changing. Absolutely nothing on this earth remains the same for very long. So really the one thing you can count on as being permanent is change. There is no security in the status quo. If you believe you are playing it safe by refusing to let go of the familiar, you are wrong. You must update your thinking.
Embrace change. Have the courage to be adventurous, because you only have one ticket for this ride. Success is possible if you have the courage to move forward and embrace the new things that come your way in life. There is nothing secure about hiding in one place and never venturing out to see what the world has to offer.
Dare to change. Have the courage to explore. You will find security in how you evolve when you embrace change with an open mind. You will find power in the courage to release yourself from the familiar.
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Will hated feeling naive. His fear of not being in-the-know could be traced back to a time when his family moved, and he was suddenly the new kid in school. He didn’t know the routine of his new classroom, and the kids made fun of his ignorance on several occasions before he caught up. It left him with a feeling of inferiority that he secretly vowed he would try his best to avoid for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, as Will was striving to become an expert in his field, he also ended up losing a very important ingredient to success—his ability to be teachable. Will wanted to know it all, to always have the answer. He continually demonstrated his knowledge and very seldom listened to new opinions. Therefore, Will left no room to grow. He was fearful of showing any ignorance, so he hid his questions and pretended he knew the answers, even when he didn’t.
If Will had had the courage to be naive, he would have traveled much faster along the road to success. When you are naive, you are willing to admit you are an empty bucket that is ready to be filled with ideas. It takes courage to drop your ego and dare to be naive.
Give it a try today. Dare to be naive. It might feel a little insecure at first, but there will be power behind it, just like there is power behind change. Find out what it’s like to be open to suggestions and to admit you don’t know the answer. Have the courage to discover rather than instruct.
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One final aspect of courage that will be studied in this section has to do with direction. It takes great courage to plow straight through a problem rather than find a way around it. Have you ever thought about that?
Many of us try to go around problems first. For example, you know your spouse is mad at you for some reason, but rather than asking what’s wrong, you avoid them. It would be more courageous to find out from the source what you might have done to upset him or her, and it would probably save a lot of trouble in the future, but very few people take that route first.
Think about the direction you take when faced with an issue. Do you tend to attack it head on, or do you try a dance of avoidance first? Do you prefer detours when you are put in a sticky situation? Pull a couple of instances out of your recent memory and write about how you handled them. In what ways could you have been more courageous in dealing with those situations?
Don’t be afraid to analyze your actions and practice a more courageous response the next time you face a similar situation. Successful people are constantly looking for ways they can improve their actions and live more authentically. Stare directly into the eyes of your problems and practice having the courage to deal with them rather than avoid them. The best way out is always through.
