I once took a hit when I disagreed with a group of people & that incident changed what courage means to me.

I thought naming what was wrong could change the situation.  Instead, I got flattened.

Maybe you can relate?

IN THIS ARTICLE, I teach you about ~the STRENGTH of vulnerability, ~not needing to “WIN” to feel good, & ~how to SEPARATE your inherent worth from your outcomes.

I’m Re-Thinking Courage.

I have compassion for all forms of addiction.  One of them is an addiction to self-aggrandisement – enter narcissism.

When addiction is hidden & harmful as a result, I try to educate the establishment & hope for change.  Even so, some people will protect the system they belong to at any cost.

Such was my experience when I chose to speak up.  I once worked with a person who struggled with sexual addiction & voraciously hid it from his colleagues, fine on its own, but hurt people as a result.

I could see he was terrified of himself & insecure. But being protected by the system he worked in, he was allowed to inflict pain on others which wasn’t a strategy I could support.

At the time, I believed justice would prevail & integrity would speak volumes (the motto I learned as a kid).

But speaking up has to be done with COMPASSION; there is no win if you don’t show compassion.  Ultimately, it’s more compassionate to be candid (with care) & stick your neck out than live a lie with the crowd.

So I chose courage & compassion over anger & fear, trusting good intent & willingness to collaborate might be infectious.

I thought I’d “shine” my way through the fear that had infected my colleagues & eventually, they’d see the truth.

Surely they wouldn’t want to stay blind & deceived?  Yes.  They would.

Choosing Vulnerability:

Courage isn’t always strength. It’s vulnerability. It isn’t winning or knowing what to do.  It doesn’t always feel good or have a happy ending.

Especially if people benefit from abusers, they won’t want to know the truth when it inconveniences them.

Sometimes the only way to survive the corruption of others is to accept the fact you just happened to get in their way & move out of their reach.

Acceptance of this nature is not capitulation – IT IS WISDOM & STRENGTH.

TRUE acceptance is knowing that:

• Accepting the outcome, even if you don’t like it, means good has won.
• You chose WISDOM over struggling against an unmovable situation.
• Your priority is the INHERENT value WITHIN you, not the fleeting value WITHOUT.
• Accepting an unchangeable circumstance isn’t capitulating – it’s investing in something you can change – YOU – THAT IS winning.

You may not win the battle “against” them, but you don’t have to stay in the ring to win the war.

Courage is accepting you will encounter all sorts of experiences, including betrayal.  It means nothing about who you are and far more about who others are.

If you have faced such a circumstance and think you should have been more brave or outspoken or not let them “win,” I urge you to reconsider what courage means:

Courage Means:

• Courage is not feeling the fear and doing it anyway; it’s sometimes doing nothing.
• Courage is not standing in the arena; it’s sometimes not standing in the arena.
• Courage is knowing what you do and don’t want and doing that (or not).
• Courage is speaking your mind, no matter what anyone says, does or thinks you ‘should’ do.
• It is speaking (or not) whether they notice you (or not).
• It’s speaking out whether or not it makes people uncomfortable.
• It’s not knowing what to do & showing up anyway.

Being brave is not about what you DO; it’s about integrity & aligning your inner self to your outer self.  So let your focus be what is integral to your values.

Brave is doing what’s true to you.

And sometimes, being brave hurts.

We hold onto silence because we are afraid to lose something, however, if the time is right, shake the tree and let what falls to the ground stay there.
I believe it was supposed to be lost so that you could be free. 

Inquire about booking a session below & let’s reclaim your freedom today…

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Why am I SO Indecisive?  A Guide to Making CONRETE Choices. 
Embrace the UNCHANGEABLE:  A Guide to Accept the Things You CANNOT CHANGE. 
Stop Resisting Reality: How to Accept WHAT IS.
HOW to Stop STRESSING about the Future.
How To Stop Stress & Anxiety From Pushing You Over The Limit.