Courage – Noun; conscious self-sacrifice in pursuit of something greater than self-interest.
People are basically goal-oriented, seeking to satisfy wants and needs. But when pain or fear or any trigger for avoidance intrudes, it is difficult to follow desire with action, even if the goal is very important, the critical action, and the rewards great. Right now, we need Courage. Courage is something that is learned, it is not born in us, but develops over time.
“Whether you are a man or a woman, you will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind after honoring.“- James Allen
Too often we think of courage in modern life that requires unique heroism or a large-scale call to duty, such as in rescue and war situations. Of course, in war humans sometimes fight because they are ashamed not to. For courage to be authentic, one must confront fear and demonstrate that it is superior to fear through the right action.
scared of what? More directly, physical courage exists in the face of bodily injury or death. In other words, physical courage is demonstrated by acting independently of fear for one’s life or sustenance. We need a different kind of courage than physical courage daily. Leadership character requires moral courage: become a better leader; stand up for what is right when we are alone; doing the right thing despite disapproval or negative peer pressure; or take risks in our quest to achieve what is important. These require Courage: without it we go nowhere, we achieve little, they are meaningless, and we regret much. Courage is the basis of any other virtue.
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of each virtue at the test point.” – CS Lewis
Courage to act on our own story
The opportunity to develop Courage occurs in the mundane story of our daily life, where there are even small seeds of fear, where the danger is the loss of integrity. In business and in our everyday lives, Courage is rarely impulsive, but rather the result of self-conditioning – a history of calculated bold moves based on firm convictions. The best leaders develop courage consciously, deliberately, over time, and it shows in their actions. The story of a leader is a story of bravery.
“People who become good leaders have an above-average disposition to make bold moves, but they strengthen their chances of success and avoid career suicide through careful deliberation and preparation. Entrepreneurial courage is not so much an innate characteristic of a visionary leader as a skill acquired through decision-making processes that improve with practice. “ – Kathleen K. Reardon, Courage as skill Harvard Business Review, January 2007.
Virtue at a cost
Courage is not the only virtue. Courage starts things: it is a precursor to Faith, Love, Change, Persistence, Authenticity, Trust, Service, and all other values. CS Lewis once said that the virtue of courage is a prerequisite for the practice of all other virtues. In other words, one is virtuous only when virtue has a cost, a price that we are afraid to pay.
Without courage we do not start with what is important; we do not take the correct action; we live in fear of the consequences of virtue. Every day we are faced with decisions that start, interrupt, or sustain our courage-life pattern. Courage is your Cupid’s arrow to all that you really want to have, do, create, or become, no matter how mundane or wonderful the rewards.
Courage can only exist through virtuous action. Another type of courage is shown in a bad cause because it does not claim a moral effect and shows vice over virtue. [Think of the 9/11 hijackers or any act of terrorism] More than any other human trait, courage seems to be quite capable of serving evil.
US Senator John McCain said that “without courage we are corruptible.” Worthless, we can be admirers, but not champions of virtue and character. There are times when we recognize that something needs to be done, yet we know that if we take the right steps, we will pay a high personal price. Courage is the virtue that makes us willing to pay that price; cowardice makes us say: “The price is too high; I will not pay it. It is too difficult. I will look for the easiest and least expensive option.”
Regret is a terrible companion. Anyone can learn to live with pain. Anyone can learn to live in fear, shame, ridicule, and separation. We can learn from failure. However, nothing will divert your gaze to a mirror faster than embarrassment. Regret for inaction and regret for wrong action is harder to overcome; the cure for both is Courage. Courage leads to the right action. Right action requires courage. It takes courage to admit a mistake, and even more to make it right. No matter what the consequence of noble Courage is, it is never worse than the discovery that you are less than you pretend to be.
“Life is a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller
Reflections to inspire personal growth at Courage (with your learning partner)
How would your life be different if you had more courage? What can you do on a daily basis to increase your value? What is your personal code of ethics? What must you change to show them more fully? Find a responsible partner or hire a coach to help you build your courage and take these actions:
- What are some examples of Courage that I could show in my daily life at home and at work?
- Courage is the form of all other virtues at the test point. Courage requires proof of conviction. How would my life be different if, starting today, I took the exam every day?
- What does the phrase “worthless, we are corruptible” mean?
- Think of a specific problem you are facing or a goal you want to achieve. What would its cause and cost be? What are the real or perceived risks? What could be stopping you from acting?
- Can you think of a time when you risked your own interest for something bigger? What was it? How did you feel then? How has it shaped you?
- The next chance I get to risk self-interest for something bigger, will I admit it? I’ll be ready? How do I know?
- Who do I “pretend” to be? What specific correct actions will put me on the narrow path of integrity?
- Is my regret for inaction greater than my fear of consequences for action?