When fear shows up in your life, how do you typically respond? Do you stay safely within your comfort zone to avoid any risk of failure? Or have you learned to make peace with your fear and take courageous action anyway?
"Every single person, regardless of your personality type, can build up their ability to be brave," explained Dr. Margie Warrell, bestselling author and courage catalyst, when we interviewed her recently. "Courage isn't about not feeling afraid - it's about learning to manage our fear and being willing to move forward in its presence."
Drawing on her doctoral research and global experience helping organizations worldwide build cultures of courage, Margie shared three powerful insights about developing our courage:
Build Your Courage Muscles: Courage grows stronger through practice, just like any other skill. Each time you take action despite your fears, you expand your comfort zone and strengthen your capacity for bravery. Start small - what feels challenging today might seem natural tomorrow. To check if you're stretching yourself enough, consider: When did you last disappoint someone, fail at something, or simply dance? If you can't remember, it's time to push yourself a little further.
Play The Tape Forward: Our brains are wired to prioritize immediate comfort and security over long-term fulfillment. While five years forward may feel like forever, five years back often feels like the blink of an eye. To help yourself make braver choices, ask this powerful question: "How much life am I willing to give up?" This can help you choose actions that create the future you truly want rather than staying stuck in patterns that no longer serve you.
Forgive Your Inner Wimp: Sometimes we're just not ready yet to be courageous – and that's okay. Making peace with your "unfinished self" is itself an act of courage. Instead of beating yourself up when fear wins, focus on cultivating a voice of love and compassion within. Remember that we're all on our journey of becoming - none of us ever fully arrive at a perfect destination.
"We unlock joy when we own the whole package of who we are," Margie reminded us. "We're all here just walking each other home."
We took away so many aha insights and practical tools from our recent podcast with Margie that we've recorded an after-party podcast for you to dive deeper into how you can build your courage muscles. Just hit play above to join us.
For more of Margie’s wonderful work, be sure to pre-order her new book "The Courage Gap" (coming January 2025) and visit margiewarrell.com for more resources and her Live Brave podcast.
Please note: We are mindful that ‘girl’ and ‘woman’ are socially constructed ideas of gender that can fall painfully short of defining the fabulous complexity of who we each are. If these words resonate with part of how you have previously or currently identified yourself, we’d love to hear about your lived experiences.
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