Why we need Courage

Prudence is necessary for us all to survive in this complex world but if we want to savor life at its best, we need courage and boldness every now and then. How many times have we let opportunities pass us by only to regret such decisions in the end? How many sailing ships have we missed just because we refuse to leave the port? While Prudence keeps us away from danger, there are times when we have to take risks. If we don’t, we will remain where we are–with narrow horizons, limited experiences and with shallow perspective of what life really is. If you look at the life stories of many successful people–Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg etc, you will certainly see that all of them had to take courageous decisions at significant points in their lives. Decisions that would require them to divert from their comfort zones and take them to unconventional paths instead.

Courage with Direction

Courage without direction is dangerous. Although there would be times when we have to take blind risks, there will come a time when you would have to determine where you are headed. After all, you do not want to exhaust your fuel traveling nowhere. Thus, you should know your purpose first so that your courage won’t be wasted.

Courage does not always mean jumping off every cliff you find. There is a big difference between courage and stupidity. It does not mean being fearless either. Courage is acting appropriately and doing the right things despite the fear. It is taking actions guided with the right principles, pragmatic thinking, and genuine passion. Oftentimes, we already know where we want to go and how to get there. However, we are held back by our fears and hesitations. Courage is what drives us to our destination. It’s the force that nudges you to do the things you are afraid to do in order for you to succeed.

Leaving the comfort zone to pursue success

Life is an adventure–a queue of easy and hard challenges. Each of these tests, no matter how trivial it may seem requires courage. These tests would be the ones that will mold a person to be better and stronger. Yes, one may live a life full of comfort, but life without challenges would be dull. These obstacles make life more meaningful. The pain tells us we are still alive.

Courage is what we need in our journey to success. For it is courage that brings us a step closer to our goals. It enables us to leave our comfort zones and move forward to our progress. We need it to break free from other’s opinion and it helps us maximize our individuality. This same individuality, when properly invested will gain its due profit of success.

A year ago, I quit my office job. My previous job was great– it was comfortable, good salary, good company culture and all. However, I felt like I was not growing. I needed to go out and expand my horizon. Quitting that job meant my salary range decreased and I needed to work on weekends. Despite my family and friends’ opposition, I went ahead and followed my intuition. Indeed, it was difficult at first. I had to deal with difficult people and cope up with physical exhaustion and pressure. Despite all these, I am thankful that I had the courage to take this path. Through this path, I learned many things and I felt that I had really grown as a professional. I have gained skills that I wanted in the first place and I plan to use them in the future.

Life without Courage

Lack of courage means abundance of regrets. Fear of rejection and failure, one may lose the people important to him, his self-worth, his principles, and opportunities necessary for him to grow. In addition to that, he will miss many things. Life is so short, why not overcome the fear and start living it right.

Most of us have the ability to reach the skies. However, only few got the courage to fly and leave the ground. For majority would see only the pain of falling while only a few special ones would see through the risk and focus on the joy of flying instead. Therefore, if you are contented staying where you are, just feel the fear and miss life at its fullest. However, if you wish to taste the totality of living, take courage and dare to face the fear.

 Do you have any experience that took a lot of courage? Share them in the comment section. 🙂 If you like this post, you might also like my previous post.