Virtue III - Courage

Courage is the capacity to do what must be done in the face of fear, which comes in many forms. Whether it be fear of failure, the unknown, judgment, or bodily harm, courage isn't about never being afraid. It's the willingness to step out of your comfort zone. If you feel afraid but act anyway, that is courage.

Courage has facilitated human evolution. If cavemen could not muster the courage to hunt a wooly mammoth, their tribe would starve. If a caveman ran away from a saber toothed tiger, he would leave his family to be eaten. Those who were not courageous died out, leaving their cowardly genes with them.

The quality of human lives throughout history have been transformed on the basis of courage. The founding fathers of the United States were unbelievably courageous to leave their homeland and fight the Revolutionary War against the most powerful nation on the planet to free their families from tyranny. The soldiers who fought in WWII could not have been more courageous when they stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-day to free Europe from the most industrialized manifestation of evil the world has ever seen.

The difference in today's world is that it is no longer a matter of life or death. Even the most cowardly among us can survive and reproduce just fine. That said, courage is still vitally important if one strives to live the most fulfilling life possible, and become the best person they possibly can. The self-respect gained from being courageous, and the good done for the world, far outweigh the temporary comfort of cowardice.

Here are some examples of the application of courage in the modern world, and the consequences of cowardice

1. A doctor has had enough of traditional medicine and wants to start their own holistic wellness practice, but is worried that the business might not get off the ground.

Courage: The doctor overcomes his fear of failure and establishes a successful practice that improves the health and wellbeing of entire communities. Even if the business fails, the doctor can rest his mind knowing he did his best.

Cowardice: The doctor stays complacent and lives with the regret of never having tried. Thousands suffer from suboptimal health because they lack access to a functional medicine practice. The doctor carries the regret of "what if" to his deathbed.

2. A man and his family are on a walk when a belligerent drug addict charges them.

Courage: The man steps in front of his family and subdues the assailant.

Cowardice: The man steps aside and his daughter gets mauled by the crazed maniac, suffering life long disfigurement.

3. A bachelor strikes up a great conversation with a quality woman at the library

Courage: He asks for her number, the next few dates go well, and one day they get married and start a loving family.

Cowardice: The conversation comes to a close and he watches what could have been his future wife walk out the door, never to see her again.

The necessity for courage shows up more often than you might recognize. When the time comes to be courageous, how can you be sure that you will rise to the occasion? Read on.

How you can become more courageous

1. Identify and face your fears

Getting comftorable with being uncomfortable is a surefire way to become more courageous. Think of some things that intimidate you, and intentionally do them. Start small so you don't overwhelm yourself, then move on to higher incarnations of your fears. This is called "stress inoculation," and is analogous to "progressive overload," for the gym bros out there. Here are some examples:

• Fear of failure: Learn a new hobby, skill, or activity that you might not excel at initially, like AI, web design, or a new sport. Oftentimes we assume we aren't "good" at certain things (i.e. "I'm not a math person," "I'm not athletic," "I don't understand technology," etc). This is fear of the unknown in its most literal sense; fearing what you don't know how to do. I'm convinced that anyone can become competent at anything if they remove self-limiting beliefs.
• Fear of public speaking: Start by giving a talk in front of a mirror. Then, speak in front of one friend, followed by your family. Volunteer to present a project at work or school. Next thing you know you'll be giving a TED talk.
• Fear of confrontation: When in public, smile and greet everyone you walk past. Introduce yourself to one new person each day, whether it's at the gym, a coworker in the break room, or a total stranger. Once you're comfortable with this anytime you notice yourself shying away from confrontation, whether it be requesting a raise, checking someone for mistreating you, or asking you neighbors to quiet down, make a point to do so politely.
• Fear of heights: Start by standing on a small stool or ladder. Gradually move to higher places, like a second-story balcony, a lookout tower, and eventually, try activities like rock climbing or skydiving.
• Fear of rejection: Begin by asking a friend or family member for a small favor. Then, challenge yourself to ask strangers simple questions, like directions or recommendations. As you become more comfortable, try more challenging tasks, such as asking for a discount at a store, requesting feedback on a project, inviting someone you admire out for coffee, or reaching out to famous mentors online seeking advice.
• Fear of the dark: Find the most serial killer esque basement you can, wait until night, turn off all the lights, and stand there alone for as long as it takes to settle yourself. Do this over and over until you no longer get feel afraid.
• Fear of sharks: This is my personal irrational fear. Whenever I go to the beach, I make a point to swim out past where my feet can touch and tread water while reveling in the fear of great whites lurking below. Only when I get control over my mind do I allow myself to swim back to shore.

While some of these fears might seem trivial, overcoming them in practice makes facing fears in general second nature.

3. Practice mindfulness

Not all instances of courage are blatantly obvious. There are times when we subconsciously avoid things we're afraid of, which can lead to living a less fulfilling life.

Learning to be mindful by practicing meditation teaches you to be in tune to your thoughts and emotions. When you apply mindfulness throughout your day, you will be able to notice fear when it arises in any of its forms as a mere pattern of energy in your body, and simply let it go. Consider what fear really is. A sensation in your chest or throat? A thought in your mind? How do any of these have the power to dictate your actions? You will only have an embodied understanding of how powerful mindfulness can be when you learn to meditate, which I'll talk more about in future blogs.

4. Change your perspective

Text time you find yourself fearing anything, bring to mind the unfathomable amount of courage men in the past have mustered. In the battle of Thermopylae, 300 Spartans and their allies, outnumbered 500 to 1, held off the "immortal," Persian army for three whole days and sacrificed their lives to buy their nation time to rally against the invaders. This is one of many historical examples demonstrating that the courage required to do whatever you're afraid of pales in comparison to the heroic bravery exemplified by men throughout history.

5. Expose yourself to danger

The only way to train courage to its fullest extent is to put yourself in situations where there is a possibility of getting hurt or even killed. The courage required to ask a lady for her phone number is not the same courage required to storm the beaches of Normandy.

• Martial Arts

Not only will learning how to fight increase your confidence in your ability to defend yourself and others, routinely training against other fighters will make you more courageous. It takes courage to stand in front of someone who has the intent of punching you in the face or choking you out, and is skilled at doing so.

• Sports

While there is utility in all sports in that they require you to perform under pressure, the more dangerous the sport, the more courage you will develop. It takes courage to stand at a batting mound with a baseball hurtling toward your head. It takes courage to run through a muscle bound linebacker foaming at the mouth with the intent of giving you a concussion.

• Intense hiking

Hiking might not sound dangerous, but coming from someone who has watched avalanches less than a mile away, and ended up neck deep in snow in the Italian alps (my closest near-death experience), I can attest that mother nature is a force to respect. Peering over ledge with a certain death drop is sure to make your hair stand up. I'm not saying to be reckless or intentionally risk your life, but one wrong fall or one wrong turn while hiking can leave you injured or lost. It is this possibility of danger we're after.

• Bow hunt bears - enough said

Developing courage in these ways will teach you what fear feels like and how to manage it, which will transfer to other aspects of your life in ways you might not expect. If you have the courage to run a Spartan race, you are more likely to have the courage to quit your dead-end job, because you have practiced managing fear, which could open up life changing opportunities. In our relatively danger-free modern era, you have to go out of your way to cultivate courage.

6. Remember your death

Sooner or later, each and every one of us are going to die. So never allow fear to stop you from living as fully as possible.

The world needs more courageous people willing to live life to the fullest, give their deepest gifts, and stand up for what's right. If something is stopping you, use the virtue of courage to overcome it right now.

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