You‘ve Got To Step Out of Your Comfort Zone: Courage — The Chief Virtues (2/4)
In the last article of the series, I wrote about the virtue of wisdom, defining what is good, bad, indifferent, and taking the time to analyze our choices and decisions before taking action. In this article, I’ll talk about the second of the Chief Stoic Virtues — Courage.
In previous postings, I’ve noted that life isn’t a place of comfort. Any progress we make often requires some type of work, and this usually places us in areas of discomfort. To grow requires the stretching and placing of the mind in places that it’s frankly not used to being in. Sometimes, this can also be painful, be it mentally or physically.
So how does this notion of discomfort relate to courage?
Let’s imagine the concept of courage on a spectrum. On one end, you have total courage. On the other, you have total cowardice. These are two polar opposites, and by nature of what they are, their polarity opposes each other.
So with this, let’s define what courage is. Courage is the opposing force of cowardice; it’s the action of doing what is right despite our fears, desires, or anxieties.
Courage is the opposing force of cowardice.
When you face a situation that makes you uncomfortable, there’s a part of you that wants to remain comfortable and produces feelings such as fear or anxiety to keep us in that spot. But this isn’t a bad thing in and of itself though. It’s one of the evolutionary traits that kept your ancestors alive.
What was familiar was safe — what wasn’t was possibly dangerous. In modern society, however, this can often be an inconvenience: the fear of going broke when wanting to switch jobs can keep you in a job you hate; the pain you feel when working out can create anxiety about going to the gym again; the fear of looking stupid and dumb when practicing a new language can prevent you from becoming fluent in the language.
Simply put, the body doesn’t like to be uncomfortable.
But herein lies the problem. If you want to get anywhere in life, be it a new career, being more healthy, or even becoming financially stable, you’re going to have to step outside your comfort zone. You’re going to have to feel the fear, anxiety, discomfort, and still push through, and achieve your goal.
That’s what courage is — overcoming the feelings causing discomfort and threatening cowardice and non-growth. It’s doing the right thing, even if we’re afraid of the repercussions.
Now it’s here I want to stress a point — courage is taking the right action despite the feelings of discomfort and fear. You must be able to feel that fear and anxiety if you want to have courage. If you can’t feel fear, then you can’t conquer it, and thus cannot show courage.
You must be able to feel that fear and anxiety if you want to have courage.
The feeling of fear is normal, and its shock to your system is unavoidable. The first reaction one has to a sinking ship or unfavorable situation is to panic and feel the grips of fear, a grip that stands to alter the perception of a person and cause them to act irrationally.
A person using wisdom, however, doesn’t entertain these reactions and feelings. Instead, he condemns them. Epictetus speaks to this condemnation when he says
[a]nd they say there is this difference between the mind of a foolish man and that of a wise man, that the foolish man thinks that such ‘visions’ are in fact as dreadful and terrifying as they appear at the original impact of them on his mind, and by his assent [perception] he approves of such ideas as if they were rightly to be feared, and ‘confirms’ them…But the wise man, after being affected for a short time and slightly in his color and expression, ‘does not assent,’ but retains the steadfastness and strength of the opinion which he has always had about the visions of this kind, namely that they are in no wise to be feared but excite terror by a false appearance and vain alarms.
Truly, life is hard, and growth in life is even harder. At every turn, you face the option of growth and pain, or stagnation and pleasure. But we have a choice. Do you sit back and live comfortably and dwell within your situation because it’s what you know, or do you choose to brave the unknown and take actions that promote growth and success in our lives?
The saying, “without April showers there can be no May flowers,” rings true in every aspect of our lives. You’re going to have to put in the work and get your hands dirty if you want to see improvements and more harmony within your life and environment.
This might not be straightforward and the repercussions may be unfavorable, but you still did what was right and came out of it with your morals and strength of your character retained.
As you go through your life, look at different aspects of your life and see if there’s any that you can show more courage in. Maybe you want to start working out, but you’re afraid you won’t have time to watch your favorite TV show. Maybe you’re studying for a test but would rather hang out with your friends that night.
Being courageous is being comfortable with being uncomfortable and doing the things that are right and brings you harmony and success. Maybe its sacrificing your TV show to be more healthy, or not hanging out with friends so you can study, pass a test, and get an internship you want.
If you want to go anywhere in life, and be a better, more honorable, ethical person, growth is needed, and courage is more than required.
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