If I only had the courage…

“There would be nothing that would hold me back, I would start that diet, I would quit my job, I would get married …” I have heard this countless times, and it makes me smile that we think courage is something we pick up at the store. Courage comes at the most opportune and inopportune times.

As stated in Wikipedia, “Courage, also known as bravery, fortitude, will, and intrepidity, is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk/danger, uncertainty, or intimidation.” Confronting does not necessarily mean winning, it means to ‘take-on, deal with, face up to” whatever seems to be preventing you from going to where you can imagine.

I love the quote by Anais Nin, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage”. We all harbour dreams and we tend to ‘wait’ for the courage to come. I recall taking a voice workshop and feeling terrified to step out in front of the group to sing my solo. I kept trying to muster up the courage to do this … the instructor saw me hesitating and he said, “The courage won’t ever come when we wait, it only comes once we step out and sing.” So, I stepped out and sang, and yes moments of courage did come. What I discovered was that the next time I had to step out in front of the group, I felt no more courageous, but I did believe that the courage would come if I stepped out.

What would you attempt if you had the courage?