COURAGE TURNS CRISIS INTO OPPORTUNITY
By Shelly Aristizabal
How many of us have said to ourselves over the past year “I wish I had the courage to…?” If you have, you are not alone. Most of us struggle everyday with the question of courage… whether its our company asking us to do more with less, leaders asking us to “think outside the box”, new technology, social media, debt issues, we are all being asked to risk more with a future less secure than ever.
What keeps us from spinning out of control? What will give us the agility and ability to take on the challenges of this new world order? What is the missing skill? Courage. Courage can turn crisis into opportunity. Courage can empower us to make decisions before all of the data has been collected and analyzed. It can transform our fear of the unknown into a tremendous motivator. Courage can ensure we not only survive, but also thrive.
But what if you don’t consider yourself particularly courageous? Is courage something you can learn? YES! We all have courage skills. We simply need to become more aware of them and practice using them consciously. You can accomplish anything with courage skills. We can provide fresh thinking that turns uncertainty into opportunity. We can embrace the trial and error process required to make improvements in the way we work.
We are not born with courage, but neither are we born with fear. Maybe some of our fears are brought on by our own experiences, or by what someone has told us, or even by what we've seen in the media. Some fears are valid, like walking alone in a bad part of town at two o'clock in the morning. But once we learn to avoid that situation, we won't need to live in fear of it.
We can develop the skill of courage to do battle with the enemy of fear. Build your courage to fight what's holding you back, what's keeping you from your goals and dreams. Be courageous in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.
Courage is a personal, individual concept. You can’t talk anyone out of being afraid. You can teach yourself to move around your fears and other obstacles. Be realistic and constructive. Identify what is holding you back from pursuing an important goal or dream.
The first step is bringing everything out into the light. Understanding what you’re afraid of can help remove the power those fears and obstacles have over you.
If you can identify, clarify, and then take action or follow through on a series of actions – not without fear, but in spite of your fears – Do it Afraid!
You may need to ask yourself some tough questions to get to the heart of the matter and discover exactly what your core fears are and if you are willing to take the action to push through to success.
Like any other skill, Courage requires that you pay attention, understand what is and isn’t working, and create a plan to improve and build upon that skill. You can’t simply wish to have more courage. You have to be crystal clear about what it is you are trying to accomplish. You have to understand the barriers you will face, and you have to create and follow through on a solid strategy that gets you where you want to go.
Consider an important, challenging, goal you wish to achieve. Has fear been holding you back from pursuing it? Ask yourself WHY you want this particular dream or goal. What meaning will this add to your life? Once you hit the heart of the challenge, you’ll have a better idea of your motivations and be better prepared to overcome the obstacles that have kept you from making the leap in the past.
Fear is a passionate emotion. When faced with a decision that is outside of your comfort zone, you need to recognize you will probably feel uncomfortable and energized. Energized discomfort – that feeling is at the heart of everything great that was ever accomplished in our world. You know when you are on to something when you say to yourself, “OK, I don’t really want to have to deal with this. It’s too scary. Too much could go wrong. I could make a real mess.”
Now, take courage and say “But if I were to succeed… it could be awesome!” Know that there is real value in learning from failure. Do it afraid, and create your opportunity to be awesome!