You Can’t Fake Courage

You can fake many other characteristics or emotions. But, courage is special. There is no way to fake being courageous.

Like with all things, courage is a practice. It is not divinely ordained in your mother’s womb. Courage is something you practice and try to exhibit on a daily basis.

We don’t get many great opportunities to be courageous, but we get a ton of okay opportunities. The key is seizing the okay opportunities, so you have to confidence to take hold of the great opportunities when they come. The okay opportunities look like:

• posting something that scares you a little bit but you like it
• getting in the cold shower
• going to church when you don’t want to
• telling someone that you love them

Practicing these small things habitually builds the practice of being courages. When you have practiced it, you are more likely to step up when great opportunities arise like:

• having conversations that you want to have but you are scared to
• signing up for a challenging event/race
• committing to a big change in your life like quitting your job or moving

When you practice the discipline of courage, your grow that muscle. It is always having to be trained. It doesn’t stop. It is a practice that you must revisit daily and whenever you confront something you fear. You can’t say your courageous, then let yourself shy away from the big opportunities that scare you. It is okay to be scared. We all are afraid. But, courage dictates what you do in the face of that fear. Do you keep marching forward or back track to find a different path? When obstacles appear, how do you confront them? Do you have those uncomfortable conversations?

Don’t ever stop the practice.