Courage Is Crucial

The easiest thing to do in life is to exist at whatever level you are presently operating at.  Change is something that is difficult for most people to embrace.  To successfully do this requires the courage to step out of one's comfort zone into the unknown.  This is a concept which is more than most can handle.

How can I make this assertion?  Simple, most lead lives they are unhappy with.  I see so many settling for less than they truly desire.  They lack the courage to risk failure when they go after what they really want.  This is something that society trains us to do.  We are taught the "safe" route is the way to go. Sadly, it is also the path that leads to unhappiness.

If you are going to alter your life, it is going to take a great deal of courage.  Changing requires a bit of risk taking.  When you undertake something like this, you expose yourself to the ridicule of other people.  Often, this comes from those who are closest to us.  Those who have our "best interest" at heart are usually the ones who crush our dreams.  They tell us to "be realistic" and get something that is safe.

The events over the past few months teach us that safety is an illusion.  When it comes to investing, the buy and hold theory is considered the safest approach.  Proponents told us to find quality companies and hold them for decades.  Over time, if we reinvest the dividends, we would realize a healthy return.  All gains realized over the past 15 years were wiped out in a matter of a couple of months.  So much for the safety route.

We see the same situation with careers.  People who chose solid companies to work for are now losing their jobs in record numbers.  Their safety was an illusion.  Let us take the automobile industry.  Unions are considered the safe route.  Unfortunately, a union contract is worthless if the company goes out of business.  The UAW is just as panicky as management within the Big Three.  Millions are facing the loss of employment.

Safety is an illusion.  It does not exist.  Life is a risk.  That is where success comes from.  There will be times when you will fall flat on your face.  Over the next 12 months, we are going to encounter many challenges in our pursuit of change.  Altering your life is not something for the faint.  It takes courage to do this.  However, the payoff is beyond comprehension.  It is where we realize freedom.

We start to develop courage by moving forward in spite of what goes on in our head.  Often we are consummed by fear.  This is okay as long as we do not allow it to stop us.  Courage is not the absence of fear, rather, it is the taking of action in spire of the fear being present.   This is what the courageous do: they take action.  The fearful procrastinate.  Become one who exemplifies courage by taking action.  

Here is an exercise you can do immediately:  Make a list of 3-5 things that you are putting off doing. Write them on a piece of paper and resolve to complete them before you go to bed tonight. This single act put you into the courage area.  It might not feel like any big deal but it is.  Taking action is the single hardest thing for the unsuccessful to do because it requires courage.  Do this and watch your courage expand.

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