How do you define courage?
What does courage actually look like in your daily life?
The American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that we need courage for whatever we do. Emerson stressed,
Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.
If you set out on the task of leading a life (or even begin to contemplate it), you will likely encounter what author Steven Pressfield calls Resistance. In his classic book The War of Art, Pressfield put it this way, “Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance.”
Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That's why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there'd be no Resistance. — Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
What do you fear most in this life? What is your biggest fear? Right now.
These are the opening lines in The Great Work of Your Life by Stephen Cope (a previous podcast guest). Cope describes himself in the introduction as a seeker, a voracious reader, someone hungry for answers. Cope writes:
Every now and then, in my quest for answers, I stumble across a sentence that stands up and shouts from the page. Here is a sentence I read recently in the pages of the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas. “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you; if you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”
Leading a life is not one devoid of mistakes or a straightforward path. According to Emerson, we should view all of life as an experiment. “Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. The more experiments you make — the better.”
The courage to lead a life connects with what Nietzsche called saying yes to life. The call to stop sitting in the shade, to stop being a spectator to one’s own life, to think, to speak, to live. An ingredient in this call to action is the discipline of clarity — to start being the captain of your life.
A characteristic of courage is persistence. “All men have wandering impulses,” observed Emerson. But when you have resolved to lead a life, do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world.
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
P.S. This article connects with many previous articles and podcasts on Leading a Life. Explore more below: