How are you brave?
Today’s #bloganuary prompt has sent me down a rabbit hole!
First thoughts, how is bravery different from courage? Is bravery being bold with an absence of fear? Does bravery imply physical danger? Why is the only thing I can think of the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz? The internet has a lot of opinions on these topics. I’m not entirely sure all of this is right, so perhaps I should ignore it.
Do you know what I realized? This rabbit hole, like rabbit holes so often are, is simply a distraction from the uncomfortableness that rises when I try to answer the question.
How am I brave? How am I brave? How am I brave? How am I brave? Well, changing the question’s emphasis is not making it easier to answer. Which leads to “am I brave?”
While I would like COURAGE to be one of my core values, it makes me uncomfortable. Does that mean I need to be courageous or brave all the time? What if I fail? And reading my self-talk written out like this, I notice two things. One, there is some imposter syndrome going on here, and two, I see some fixed mindset beliefs jumping out.
Some of the best self-help advice I’ve read recently can be paraphrased as listening to your self-talk and then rephrasing it as if you were talking to a friend or loved one.
So, instead of beating my self up with negative self-talk, I’m going to think about this as if I were talking to a loved one.
Some might consider it brave to be posting this and sharing this sort of vulnerability.
Who cares what the internet thinks is brave?! Choose your own definition and roll with it.
Of course, you’re brave! You do a million brave things every single day. Ok, maybe not every day, but you get my point!
A core value of courage could be similar to an intention word, and help serve as a reminder to keep courage in your heart and your life.
PS. I’m not sure I’ve actually answered the question!