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Discovering the Courage Within

IMAGE Christopher Columbus needed courage. So did Lance Armstrong when he defeated cancer and captured the Tour de France in 1999. History is littered with courageous acts and courageous people.

You do not have to be a world-class explorer or professional cyclist to have courage. Everybody needs it, but how do you get it, especially when you are like the lion before he discovered the Wizard of Oz?


The Inborn Courage in You


Eventually, that changed. Parents and other caregivers told you to be careful, to avoid dangers. Society, after all, values comfort over fulfillment. "We've been exposed to a barrage of messages that discourage us from being courageous," says Harold Bloomfield, MD, a Yale-trained psychiatrist and author of Making Peace With Your Past.

Your Adversity Quotient

As you grew up, you patterned your response to adversity on how people around you responded to difficulty. Paul G. Stoltz, PhD, president/CEO of Peak Learning International and author of Adversity Quotient, defines this reaction as the adversity quotient (AQ).

As a baby, your AQ is untested. By the time you are 12, thanks to your environment and situations you have faced, you have developed your AQ. "The higher your AQ," Stoltz says, "the better you're able to summon courage and tap your greatness in times of need."

Fortunately, your AQ can be strengthened.

Courage Aas a Necessity

Why do you need courage? Because courage will help you live your life the way you want. "Courage is learning to overcome fear," says Dr. Bloomfield, "and when you do that, you grow."

Today, courage is needed more than ever before. In polls that Stoltz conducted, 98% of people predicted more difficulty, chaos and uncertainty in their lives in the future. Stoltz says that 10 years ago, the average number of challenges people faced in a day was seven. Today, that number has risen to 23.


Obstacles to Becoming Braver

There are, though, things that stand between you and your courageous self. Dr. Bloomfield lists the following obstacles:


Finding Courage in Times of Need

Stoltz says you draw courage from what matters to you. "The changes you're willing to make are the ones that have the greatest significance," he says. For example, if you have been offered a job that will force you to move across the country but you do not care about the job, you will have a hard time finding courage to make the move.

Once you have decided what matters, follow these suggestions for becoming more courageous.

  • Recall previous times when you acted courageously. Did you move as a child and have to make new friends? Did you go away to college? "Focusing on times when you acted courageously will instill more courage in you," Larsen says, adding that you should also applaud yourself for showing courage.
  • Shift your focus. Do not worry about failing or disappointing other people, Larsen says. Worry instead about failing yourself.
  • Eliminate the words wish, hope and maybe from your vocabulary. "These words erode your courage by filling you with doubt, fear or hesitation," says Dr. Bloomfield.
  • Do your homework. If appropriate, know the obstacles you might encounter. Talk with other people who were once in your shoes. But remember that no matter how much you analyze the situation, you will still have unknown answers. "Courage doesn't mean waiting to act until you have no fear," explains Dr. Bloomfield. "Courage means living with heart and doing what you want when you're scared."
  • Surround yourself with courageous people, Larsen says. There will always be people who say never. Find people who support and believe in you.
  • Imagine what life will be like when your challenge has passed. "Courage can come from seeing past adversitythings and knowing that although it may be horrible now, it'll get better sometime," Stoltz says.
  • Give it your all but do not expect perfection, says Dr. Bloomfield. Do not give only 50%; then you can say later that you did not succeed because you were not trying that hard. To find courage, you must be willing to give 100%.
  • Once you have acted with courage, assess your response, Larsen says. Did acting with courage move you forward? If not, figure out how you would behave differently next time. If it did, then bottle that courage, reward yourself, and always remember this time when you acted with courage in spite of your fears.
  • American Psychological Association

  • PsyBlog

  • Canadian Psychological Association

  • Healthy Canadians