The magic of ‘bravery’.

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“It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly ;… who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.”

Quote by Theodore Roosevelt, 1910. The ‘Man in the Arena’ speech.

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”

Quote by Steve Jobs.

Hello to you,

As I have recently  been pondering the word bravery, it has appeared for me in many synchronistic ways this week. I have seen it in Instagram posts and heard it in podcasts. What is it to be brave? And why do we feel the need to see ourselves as ‘brave’ when there is no threat to our physical body? We tend to think of bravery as fronting up to a battle… to be placing our life in danger…overcoming fear.

So why is it that we feel so ‘brave’, and are encouraged to be courageous  when we decide to simply follow our dream?…begin something new?…show our true selves?

What is this new kind of battle?

For me, it is one or a combination of the following fears at any given time…

🌟The fear of how we are perceived and consequently, judged, is a major factor. ‘What will people think’ if I steer off course and appear different to what they are comfortable with? The person I, and they, are used to?
🌟The fear of embarrassment. Being on show in front of others if things don’t unfold as we hoped they would.
🌟The fear of others destroying our dreams by saying they are not valid or worthy of our time and attention.
🌟The fear of not gaining the approval of others with the path we have chosen. Especially if we are uncovering a part of ourselves we may have kept hidden.
🌟The fear of ‘I told you so…’

These are all valid, and many I’m sure we all share.

It requires bravery to push through these feelings, past our comfort zones and into the unknown.

There comes a time when we must reclaim the life we were given in this physical form in order to attain and live out our highest purpose.

To move forward, if our pursuit is one of personal evolution, we must refrain from outsourcing our happiness and joy to the opinions of others, and live in alignment with our own truth. Otherwise, we are handing over our power and our life to external sources.

We cannot permit ourselves to become caged in through fear of supposed failure… if someone begins working towards their dream, how can it ever ‘fail’? Things may not eventuate in the manner that we were hoping for, but we can’t always predict things will  work out according to our expectations…there may be a grander plan waiting for us that we are not aware of, with valuable ‘insights’ and ‘lessons’ learnt along the way.

Being BRAVE means we accept the ‘fear of what others will think’ is no longer an option…that to move ahead, we must live according to our own values and create that which brings us joy. Because in doing so, we bring joy to others purely because we become more content within ourselves. We learn after a first baby step forward… that it’s not as scary as we forecast.

This brings such a freedom that must be experienced and then enjoyed. I’m not saying it’s easy, and I’m a constant work in progress too, but with each tiny step towards our dreams, we become a little braver. In time, we will see it as part of a delicious journey we are undertaking.

There comes a time when the torment of not pursuing the endeavours that ignite us becomes too great. To stare down the fear of the judgement…and respond by simply being happier in our own skin is something palpable to others. Let this be the change we really wish for others to notice…

I have a saying, and I’m not sure where it came from, but I’ve used it many times…’close your eyes and go for it.’ Its relevance, to me, means through closing our eyes, we cannot see our fears, the darkness forcing us to go within and deeply feel our passions and desires. We leave our rational mind behind…the one that could talk us out of everything.
From that place, the emotions of feeling the dream becoming reality are too overwhelming to ignore.

By one person daring to be brave, it affords others to take the baby steps necessary for them, so in a way, each of us becomes a leader for others in a beautiful kind of ripple effect.

I have certainly benefitted from those whom I admire leading the way to show me what’s possible, that it’s safe to do so…when those pesky fears were winning the battle…

So together, let’s weave some magic. Let’s be the light that shows the way ahead for others. Let’s be brave. You’re a sheer work of art and truly amazing. Believe IT…feel IT…own IT. ❤

Bravery awards this week to my friends who are lighting the path ahead:
Leni, who has opened her brand new Etsy website this week where she displays her brand of beautiful calligraphy and hand lettered designs.

Louise Brister who has begun her new Facebook page where she shares her gentle spiritual wisdom.
Please find the links to their pages below.🌹

And much gratitude to Brené Brown’s book for opening the discussion about Bravery in the first place, and from where I discovered the opening quote.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/lightofleni
https://www.facebook.com/theinnercoursewithlouisebrister/
Brown, B 2015, Rising Strong, Vermillian, London.