Do you feel like you have difficulty going after what you want?
Do you get shivers at the thought of confronting other people?
Are your responsibilities too much to handle for you?
And do you get easily scared at the thought of hardships in the future?
Well, these are all signs that you lack courage.
And, you must already know by personal experience that life can be quite difficult for people like you.
You might miss out on great opportunities just because you couldn’t bring yourself to pursue them.
You might tolerate injustice just because you can’t speak up for yourself!
And you might not be able to enjoy life and all its flavors.
If you feel like you are missing out and need a transformation, that’s a welcome first step.
Just wanting to be more courageous is a sign of courage.
Below, I will talk about a few effective things you can do to develop this essential quality in you.
1) Know What Your Values Are
Values are an essential part of what makes you, you.
They influence your thoughts, emotions, actions, and decisions.
Unfortunately, a whole lot of people do not have values.
They live life with an “everything goes” attitude.
Then there are people who have values, but they take a back seat in their personality.
If this is the case with you, courage might not come naturally to you.
After all, you might not have the push you need to stand up for what you believe.
You might be content (reluctantly) in letting others overpower you and walking all over you.
Do you now realize the importance of finding and knowing your values?
So, introspect a little and try to figure out what is important to you.
What does your soul care for and believe in?
How do you see the world and people?
How do you think a person should live their life?
The answers to these questions will help you understand what your values are, and that, in turn, will help you stand up for them.
2) Be Comfortable With Discomfort
Acting with courage can be uncomfortable more often than not.
That’s because it requires not being pushed around by others.
It requires you to venture into the unknown and face your fears head-on.
As you may know, we human beings are hardwired to avoid the unknown for as long as possible.
This is a survival trait that is starting to lose its relevance in today’s world.
Today, you need to be comfortable with discomfort.
You need to explore many paths before you know which one is the right for you.
And you cannot do that if you are not brave.
Sadly, this is the story of many people around the world.
They live without knowing who they truly are and what they are capable of.
Of course, you do not want to live a limited life.
You want to make sure you achieve what you deserve.
Keep this in mind the next time you feel like avoiding something just because it is uncomfortable.
Tell yourself that discomfort won’t kill you. It will only make you stronger.
3) Start Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone Slowly
This is an extension of the previous point.
One great way to slowly develop courage is to try new things incrementally.
When you keep exposing yourself to smaller discomforts, you eventually build tolerance.
And the great thing about this is that smaller discomforts are much easier to handle.
Let’s say you are afraid of deep waters.
Now, to overcome this fear, you might start out with shallow pools.
You can enjoy and learn swimming in a pool that is just 3 or 4 feet deep.
When you are comfortable with this depth, you can move on to a 5-feet-deep pool.
And so on.
You can do this for any of your other fears.
In fact, you can make stepping out of your comfort zone a habit.
Eventually, you will not be anxious to do things that feel uncomfortable or scary.
You will have tons of experience that will remind you that you will be okay.
4) Develop Mental Strength
If you want to do something meaningful in life, you will need mental strength (just as you require physical strength to lift meaningful weights).
But what does mental strength really mean?
Well, it means being able to push through in the face of adversities.
Courage, as you may know, is not the absence of fear. It is the ability to keep going despite feeling fearful.
So, don’t misunderstand mental strength as being someone who feels no fear.
It just means that no matter what happens in your life, you will be able to deal with it and move past it.
I would say this is a must-have quality in every person.
After all, adversities are inevitable in life.
And you can’t live your life without addressing them.
So, now you might ask: how do I develop mental strength?
Well, first of all, get the basics right.
Exercise, eat a healthy diet, get proper sleep, indulge in spiritual practices, hang out with your loved ones, and so on.
You should also study the lives of successful people in history and learn from them to build their mental fortitude.
in a nutshell, to build mental strength, you need to get out of your comfort zone whenever you can….. and practice, practice, practice.
ex: you are afraid to talk to strangers? why not enter the first shop you see to ask a question?
Why not ask the first person you see the time? ect…. conquer your fear 🙂
You get my drift 🙂
5) Nurture Your Empathy
Empathy is one of the greatest qualities of a human being.
After all, this quality makes you understand the feelings and emotions of other people.
And you might be surprised to know that empathy is an important part of courage.
That’s because when you truly understand what other people are going through, you step up against all your discomfort to help them.
For example, if someone is being rude to a person who is going through depression, you might stand up for them.
Even if you normally don’t confront people, your empathy will give you that extra push to confront the rude person.
Here, bravery shows itself in the defense of other people.
So, try to develop your empathy as much as you can.
You can start by putting yourself in other people’s shoes.
Try to look at life and the world from their perspective.
Understand their story and struggles. Talk to them to figure out how they feel about things.
And get invested in what they have to say.
You can do this for your loved ones and slowly start to become a more empathetic person.
6) Choose To Be Courageous
When someone tells you to choose to be courageous, you might roll your eyes and say that it is always easier said than done.
Well, you wouldn’t be completely mistaken.
However, it is also true that courage and cowardice are often a choice.
If you take a walk down memory lane, you will find many instances where you might have been given a choice to be brave or act cowardly.
And you might have chosen the latter path more often than not.
Look, it is not wrong to choose the path of least resistance.
Especially when you stand to gain something.
But, please know that it is often the difficult road that rewards you the most.
As the old saying goes, anything worth having in life demands blood, sweat, and tears!
And when it comes to justice, you can rest assured that there is no easy path.
If you want justice, you have to choose to be courageous.
Otherwise, you will have to live your life knowing that other people took advantage of you and you did nothing.
So, don’t fear hardships and tell yourself that you need to do the right thing, even though it might lead to struggles for a short period of time.
7) Use Positive Affirmations
Positive affirmations are really getting popular these days.
Millions of people throughout the world are using them and bringing change one step at a time.
If you didn’t already know, positive affirmations are short, positive statements about any aspect of you or your life.
The idea here is to craft short sentences and repeat them over and over again to yourself.
You might wonder what this little exercise will help you achieve.
Well, let me tell you a secret.
Your self-talk programs your subconscious mind.
And it is your subconscious mind that dictates your actions, decisions, and thought patterns.
This is where positive affirmations come in.
When you repeat them to yourself, again and again, your subconscious mind gets reprogrammed to a much more positive state.
Let’s take an example.
If you want to be more courageous, you could repeat these affirmations:
“I am fearless.”
“I am ready for whatever today brings.”
“I am bold and daring.”
“I radiate great courage.”
“I have moved past doubt and fear.”
When you say them repeatedly, your subconscious mind starts getting reprogrammed, and you start feeling braver. Try it. ( Of course say these affirmations and feel you truly are brave…it is ok if you need to fake it… what matters is to start “reprogamming ” your mind. )
8) Embrace Failure
One of the main reasons why people often don’t do what they want to do is fear.
I am sure I don’t need to explain this.
You might have stopped yourself countless times in your life just because you were fearful to pursue something.
At first glance, it might seem like a natural response.
But if you think about it logically, you will realize what mistake you have been committing.
Most people have the wrong perception of fear.
They think of it as the end of the story… a full stop.
That’s not true.
Fear is merely a pause… a comma.
The truth is, you don’t fail at something until you give up.
When you fall, you always have the option to get back up again.
And every time you do, you learn something new.
You become stronger and wiser. And you become more equipped to reach your goal.
So, in a way, fear is an enabler, not a disabler.
It only makes it more likely that you will succeed the next time!
So, whenever your fear of failure tries to stop you in your tracks, tell yourself that fear is the greatest teacher there is.
And there is no reason to be afraid of it.
Embrace it and keep moving forward.
9) Identify Your Strengths
This is another common reason people act cowardly.
They just don’t know what they are capable of!
Has this ever happened to you?
I’ll give you an example of my friend so you can understand this better.
My friend happens to be a really good singer.
But she just doesn’t realize this!
In her mind, she doesn’t even see singing as a decent ability, let alone a strength.
And due to this reason, she keeps avoiding any opportunities that knock on her door.
If you relate to this, you know exactly what I am talking about.
You see, you have to know and understand your strengths to develop confidence.
And you also have to believe in your abilities.
When people tell you that you are good at something, trust them!
Don’t let your self doubt and lack of self-esteem tell you that you are not good enough.
You need to introspect and identify all your strengths.
Talk to your friends and family, and they might enlighten you better!
When you understand what you are capable of, you will feel more confident in pursuing certain things.
And when you do, you will prove to yourself that you are indeed capable.
Sometimes, it’s as easy as this.
