I’ve been thinking about courage a lot lately. Well, specifically, I’ve been asking for courage. Noah said something the other day in bootcamp class that really stuck with me – he said (something along these lines) — “Don’t just hope and wish for the things you want. If you’re gonna pray, pray for the courage to take action.” I really liked that.
I’ve always been really interested in the topic of courage. In fact, I remember wanting to get a “courage” tattoo like 5 years ago (maybe I still will someday), mainly because of that one line in the serenity prayer.
“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
The courage line always resonated with me. The courage to change the things I can. Changing things does take courage. Taking action takes courage. Doing unconventional things takes courage. Taking risks takes courage.
I don’t feel courageous 100% of the time but when that shift happens and I can take a courageous action where I once thought I couldn’t, that’s when the magic happens. That’s when life shows up to meet me.
Here are a few definitions of courage I found —
- The ability to do something that frightens one.
- Strength in the face of pain.
- The ability and willingness to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation.
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The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
- To act in accordance with one’s beliefs, especially in spite of criticism.
I like the idea of praying for or asking for courage and strength to take the right actions that will draw me closer to what I want, rather than praying for specific outcomes and just hoping they happen. We can’t always control outcomes, but we can stand courageously and move forward towards our desires.
Courage helps us get out of quiet desperation.
Courage helps us become the version of ourselves we really want to become.
Courage gets us out of our comfort zone.
Courage helps us face situations that may seem uncomfortable or even unbearable.
Courage is that moment when your thoughts shift from “I can’t” to “I can” (and “I will.”)
Courage is that moment when you make a decision to fight for something or to take an action towards something you desire even if you’re not sure what the outcome will be.
Courage is when you dig deep inside yourself to find the strength to do things you didn’t think you could do.
We don’t necessarily need every situation in life to be exactly the way we imagined it to be, or for everything to feel easy and smooth sailing all the time. What we need is to muster up courage. Actually, forget mustering, the courage is already inside of us, we just have to remember it’s accessible anytime we choose to access it. Because we can. Because we’re resilient beings.
I found a bunch of quotes on courage that have been really inspiring me — so I thought I’d share them with you. I hope these quotes will be a good reminder to stay resilient and open up to just the tiny bit of willingness that it takes to be inspired into courageous action.
10 Awesome Quotes About Courage
(to get you in action)
“Courage is the most important of all virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistenly.” -Maya Angelou
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” -Winston Churchill
“Decide you want it more than you are afraid of it.” -Bill Cosby
“Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” -Dorothy Bernard
“Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee of success.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” Anais Nin
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” -Winston Churchill
“When one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear. Knowing what must be done does away with fear.” -Rosa Parks
“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” -John Wayne
And perhaps my favorite…
“Courage is asking for a time out, to shed a tear, to dust yourself off, and then getting back in the ring to fight like you’ve never fought before.” -Unknown
Sometimes all we need is a little reminder to ignite the flame of courage inside of us. As we approach a new year, let’s do it with courage. Remember that fear and uncertainty are universal. When you act courageously, you inspire others to do the same.
Do you have a quote about courage to share? Which quote above is your favorite? Let me know in the comments.
I’ve shared this one a few times before too, but I think it’s fitting to end with.
“If one is persistent and heroic enough, one will generate so much heat that the gods will be forced to grant his or her wish in order to save themselves and the world from being scorched.”
Let’s set the world ablaze.
Love,
Jenny
Whitney says
Thank you so much for this Jenny! Beautifully written :)
Here is something I love from Ryan Holiday, “…boldness is acting anyway, even though you understand the negative and the reality of your obstacle. Decide to tackle what stands in your way- not because you’re a gambler defying the odds but because you’ve calculated them and boldly embraced the risk.” xoxo
Ritu says
Jenny! I love this post so much. I am going to print out the quotes and put them all over my apartment and my office too. I’m going to hide them in books. And schedule myself random calendar reminders with them. SO GOOD!
The final quote you put here, I read it for the 2nd time and my jaw dropped and I was like “Oh my God…” because what it is referring to is taught in a very advanced level of Atma Kriya Yoga as well!!! Let me explain. The quote you shared is:
“If one is persistent and heroic enough, one will generate so much heat that the gods will be forced to grant his or her wish in order to save themselves and the world from being scorched.”
In Atma Kriya Yoga, I’ve learned that there is among all the energy channels in our body, called Nadi’s as the yogis here would know, the innermost one is called the Brahman Nadi. In this nadi, our deepest, darkest karma is stored, things like murder, rape and other horrible things we have done in past lives. Atma Kriya, with the grace of the masters of course, helps the Shakti to enter this nadi and clean all this awful karma out. In this nadi, something else also happens, which is related to your quote.
When your soul has a desire for something, a “vriti” or a cyclone is created in the Brahman Nadi. This cyclone is so powerful that is sucks everything around it into it, and pulls the Universe into it. The Universe, or the gods, have no choice but to grant the wish!
Whoever wrote this quote must have known this little secret taught in yoga!
Love you Jenny and sending a hug over to you across the Pacific Ocean!
xxxxxxxooooo Ritu
Amanda says
Love this – what a great reminder that courage is the key ingredient in the recipe of success! Totally needed this.