Courage, chutzpah, guts….whatever you call it, you need it big and you need it now more than ever. Many of us are at a major crossroads in our lives. Here in the USA, the country is still reeling from the recession and the recovery is slow and painful. Many of us have felt the effect in lost jobs and opportunities, most of which the pundits say will not be coming back. We need to learn new skills or even move to new towns to take advantage of the new opportunities that will develop as the economy recovers. That’s tough to do, even in good times.
On an individual level, many of us feel our personal lives are also lacking in one or more areas: family, career, financial, happiness, spiritual. But most of us fail to realize that our own actions are responsible for the lack that we feel. We are too scared to go for what we want. We settle for less because we are afraid to take the risk.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, courage is the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty”. It is this strength that we are lacking when we give up too quickly. It is this same lack that makes us walk away when we encounter difficulties in our work, in our relationships, and in our search for meaning in our lives. It is this strength that we lack when we take the easy way out instead of the doing the right thing and standing by our principles.
Courage takes work, it is not for the faint-hearted or those looking for easy wins. This strength is like a muscle that you have to train every day. Exercise your courage every day in the little things, and when you are faced with major decisions you will find yourself prepared to tackle them. Let us resolve to be courageous in the pursuit of our likes and equally courageous in relinquishing our hates so that we can expand our lives.
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
-Anais Nin.
With the New Year there is a need to move forward, to put the tough year behind us. We usher in the new year with hope that 2011 will be better than 2010, but hope is not enough. What we really need is courage to fight for the things that are important to us, to make the changes that are important to us.
When you need courage, take a deep breath and remind yourself how important the action is to you, and how your life will shrink or expand depending on what you decide to do. Regardless of where your courage meter lies right now, think back to a time when you tackled something fearlessly. Channel that energy to other areas in your life where you might be afraid to do something.
This blog is a leap of courage for us. Our individual dreams of writing remained unfulfilled until our decision to move forward together. And our lives have been greatly enriched by this step. So this New Year’s day we invite you to join us on this journey and hope that you in turn invite us to share in your own journeys. By sharing what we have learnt, by learning from you our dear readers, we hope and trust that knowledge and inspiration will strengthen us individually and collectively so that we may all expand our lives.
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
-e. e. cummings
If you make one resolution today, resolve to develop and exercise your courage every day in both the little things and the big things. Please share with us your own stories of courage and the difference it has made in your life.
We wish you a wonderful New Year, filled with all the courage and chutzpah you need to follow your dreams.
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