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Three Tricky Ways to Cultivate Courage
Consider that your fear isn’t legitimate
Legitimate fear tends to make us want to get the heck out of whatever situation we are in.
Not-helpful fear makes us hesitate rather than bolt.
We are afraid of looking stupid, and so we don’t ask a burning question. We fear failing, and so we don’t even try.
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Manipulate your thoughts
It doesn’t work to say to yourself, “I have to stop being afraid.”
- If you notice yourself having a thought that undermines your attempts at bravery, simply label it as such: “Oh, there’s a fearful thought.”
- Actively fill your mind with courageous thoughts. Think about how the last time you did it, it wasn’t that hard. Think about how you’ll regret it if you don’t do it.
Consider that your fear isn’t legitimate
Legitimate fear tends to make us want to get the heck out of whatever situation we are in.
Not-helpful fear makes us hesitate rather than bolt.
We are afraid of looking stupid, and so we don’t ask a burning question. We fear failing, and so we don’t even try.
The "If X, Then Y” plan
- IF my team grumbles or pushes-back because I’m not working on the weekends anymore,
- THEN I will forward them Leslie Perlow’s Harvard Business Review article about how ‘Predictable Time Off’ improves both work quality
- AND quality of life, even in client-oriented businesses.
Fear is the thing that in truth makes actions hard, not the action that we think we are afraid of.
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Knowing that fear has the potential to harm you can help you set it aside. Fold up that fear, put it in a box, and promise you'll get back to it later at a less dangerous time.
Fear and chemicals
You may think it's your judgment deciding that something is dangerous and you should be afraid, but what actually happens is that fear chemicals are flooding into your brain.
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Eleanor Roosevelt
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along."
Kalpana Chawla
"The path from dreams to success does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get on to it, and the perseverance to follow it."
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Make fear your friend
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Courage as a mindful response to fear
Fears can propel us to new heights if we choose to respond to them mindfully instead of reacting to them blindly.
Doing this allows us to become bigger than our fears and act thoughtfully despite them.
Commit to action
The first step is not actually taking action, it’s setting the intention to act.
Announce that you are committed to taking action. Own it, and have others hold you accountable and inviting them to lift you in support.
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