The greater the vulnerability, the greater the exposure.Įvery time I post something, it is putting a piece of myself out there, a part of myself which is open to criticism, rejection and even exposes my own biases and blind-spots. And, the more intimate, real and raw the blog, the more vulnerable and exposed I feel - the greater the fear. It may even surprise you to know that every, single, time, I post a personal blog, I am nervous.
But I have a confession to make - every time I do something new, I feel scared shitless. When I look at my life, it is definitely the road-less-travelled that I have opted for. Often, I have people telling me things like - “Oh, wow, you’re so brave, I couldn’t… move to a new country, start a new job, follow my heart without logic, post my writing…” Or insert anything else here. Without sounding arrogant, it’s a word people often use to describe me. Bravery is very much about inertia.Ĭourage walks the same steps, can look exactly the same, but it is open to examination and doubt every step of the way, because retreat or a change of direction is always an option.Ĭourage requires resolution of a different sort than Bravery, because it includes the courage to examine itself.Ĭourage is safer to be around and deal with than Bravery, even if it is far harder on the possessor.Brave. I would suggest that in addition to what you have laid out, and appropriately to the specific manner in which you bring it up, is the issue of volition.īravery does not think, and while that does not always being intrinsically lacking in intelligence, it does mean that it chooses a direction and that direction becomes "IT". The distinctions around words such as these are not always clear (possibly because not everybody encounters situations where the distinctions matter, they can comfortably all mean the same thing from a distance).
It is good to have this little difference pointed out often and in as many contexts as possible. “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” ~ Winston Churchill. What deep ocean are you staring into today that you are afraid of to dive in - head first? Courage is the centerpiece of leadership. Without courage, you cannot make a difference. Without courage, you cannot have the right conversations that result in transformation.Ĭourage allows you to show up fiercely and completely, but bringing along all your vulnerabilities, imperfections and inadequacies. Leadership happens by example, and not by opinion. Every single day in these disruptive times, a leader forges a path forward and inspires people to follow. Having this realization has made me realize how often I have to make courageous decisions on a daily basis. And it has called to mind that to effectively lead, you have to do it with courage. With bravery, the action simply happens. But with courage, a decision must be made. The decision is whether you allow fear to become barrier that keeps you from getting to the next level. It made me realize that whilst “bravery” and “courage” are very often presented as synonyms, the philosophical difference is profound.Īfter checking some references, it emphasized that “bravery” is an innate quality that demonstrates an absence of fear. There is nothing to overcome. For example, I love public speaking and I am totally brave about it. I seldom memorize anything and I don’t prepare speaker notes. I tackle it head on without fear.Ĭourage is the quality that allows you to act – despite having fear. And I experience this when I cannot see my fingers in front of me (figuratively speaking). Or when I am one step away from taking a 30,000 feet plunge (again, figuratively speaking). In recent months, I had the privilege of coming face-to-face with challenging new experiences that resulted in new lessons on almost a daily basis. While I relish the enjoyable process of constant development, having uncertainty and qualm graze my nose made me often sit back, breathe deeply and count to “10” before taking a daily plunge. In one conversation over the last week, I commented that I need “bravery” to keep moving forward. A wise comment came immediately and corrected me that perhaps the word I was looking for is – “ courage”.
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