What is courage?
Courage is a competence of intrapersonal intelligence that consists of the ability to take action and undertake something, once the decision to carry it out has been made. It is the ability to face and manage one’s own fears in a way that drives action and achievement of the proposed objectives.
It is therefore related to the capacity for analysis, decision-making and results orientation. At the level of communication, it also implies communicating opinions, emotions and feelings firmly and decisively in a clear and assertive way.
Do you have courage?
Making the decision to “try” to do something. Take the first step by taking the situation as a learning opportunity. For this it is important to think about how we consider “failure”, if we understand as failure “not having the desired results”.
If we see it as an experience that allows us to learn or as a disability or less personal or professional worth. It involves learning to manage the fear of “not being good enough” if it doesn’t go as desired. Leave room for mistakes, learn and expand my growth potential.
Courage differs from recklessness in that it involves the assumption of measured risks, possible scenarios are analyzed, but without an excess of analysis paralyzing the action when the decision has already been made.
Brave is not the one who does not feel fear, but the one who conquers his fears, Nelson Mandela.
HOW TO TRAIN MY COURAGE?
• Choose a challenge or project important to you that you want to carry out and are postponing. I invite you to follow these phases:
1. Analyze what can help you get it from your resources
Resources (internal and external) and also what are the brakes and obstacles you are encountering.
Perform a SWOT analysis of that situation, (Weaknesses / Threats / Strengths / Opportunities). The weaknesses and strengths have to do with the internal aspects, (resources you have and those you lack) and the threats and opportunities with the external aspects, (negative and positive situations of the external context that can slow you down or boost you).
2. Review your “inner narrative”
That is, how do you want to interpret the result of your action?
If you realize that for you the fact that the expected result does not come out at the first attempt for you means failure, or less personal or professional value, change that negative connotation for another that gives you more strength and impulse.
For example, thinking that it is a learning, that you will know more about the situation and have more knowledge and experience that will bring you closer to your goal. That will make you dedramatize the situation and lower your own level of demand with the result.
The one that does not go everything perfect at the first attempt will stop being so “serious” and you will realize that the scenario is not so negative.
To do this, he thinks, What’s the worst that can happen? What are the consequences of the worst-case scenario?
3. Choose date and take action
Once you’ve decided what you want to do, date your first “little action.” It is preferable to make a mistake “fast and cheap”.
Choose a step that can be corrected and whose impact is as affordable as possible, that you can face the loss that could entail.
What first small step do you want to do? What date do you want to propose to carry it out?
When you have decided that action and date do not give it more thoughts. Don’t consider changes anymore, just do it, try, try!
4. After your action observe and evaluate the results
What have you achieved? How did you feel? What have you noticed? What’s the next step you want to take?
• Say what you want to say assertively.
Say it in a positive way, do not silence your opinion. Confront whoever you have to confront for it. Choose the first situation (simple, first small step you want to do) in which you are going to start practicing.
Communicate with clear, concise messages, without judgments, but expressing from your opinion and from your experience and decisions. Explain objectively what you want to raise.
Communicate as you would like to be told, with a positive intention, taking care of your language and with kindness towards the person.
Prepare what you are going to say, what your purpose is and how you are going to say it. Imagine your conversation, what your body language will be like, your tone of voy, volume, and think positive.
Once you have prepared choose the moment and simply, do it!
Once you have decided, do not think or think again, just do it and do not postpone it.
And you, what reflections would you like to share that suggests this competence of courage?
