I’m not asking about charging a machinegun nest in WWII… I’m speaking about emotional courage.
Do you have the internal fortitude to get up every morning and give the world your best? Day after Day? Do you have the mettle to look deep within and acknowledge your hidden parts that hold you back? Make no doubt, it takes true grit to embark on the lifelong journey of self-awareness and personal growth. A solid base of self-knowledge is foundational to emotional intelligence and EQ is the most vital tool in your life management toolbox.
Can you stay present under pressure? Avoidance and denial are two very common and incredibly dysfunctional coping mechanisms. Are you willing to step into discomfort? Take calculated risk?
I’d be the first to tell you that I’m as fond of my comfort zone as anyone and it takes a very enticing risk/reward ratio to get me to enter the ‘danger zone.’ I do, however, have a couple guiding lights that pull me forward. First, the deep knowing that it is much better to embrace frequent small changes/adjustments before life comes along with an all at once whopper of an earthquake. Second, the greatest risk is to try to avoid all risk. I very carefully stay alert, constantly scanning my environment, and when I spot that rarity, a good opportunity, I leap forward. It may seem sudden and bold from the outside but actually it is very methodical and because it is well planned and thought out, the actual risk is less than perceived.
Closing Quotes:
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anaïs Nin. 1903-1977
“Scared is what you’re feeling. Brave is what you’re doing.” – Emma Donoghue, b. 1969
“Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882
“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.” – Brené Brown, ‘Daring Greatly’
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier
Note: Every effort has been made to properly source any 3rd person material. I am, however, a voracious reader. If anyone finds any unattributed material, pls let me know asap and I will be delighted to give credit where credit is due.
“All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832