Table of Contents
Quotes on Courage to Live By
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
Mark Twain
Courage is grace under pressure.
Ernest Hemingway
A Poem on Courage
A wise man once said that
“Courage is Grace under Pressure.” (Ernest Hemingway)
Yet will we listen with
Wisdom’s intent.
For what we intend
When met with intent
Will lead to the
Heart’s content.
Take action, face fear
For courage is there, to resist.
Be present & bonded
For the key to your heart’s bliss.
The Psychology of Courage
I know of no greater virtue than that of courage. Whether it be the courage to fly a young bird must undertake, the bravery to take action we as human beings will face, or the simple will to persevere in a slow, steady, yet consistent manner to win the race at hand, courage is integral to existence.
While bravery at face value may seem easily understood, popular media often misrepresents its undercurrents as something it is not. As our authors show, inner bravery is not an absence of fear; instead, it encapsulates grace and mastery of one’s internal environment to resist external factors that may pressure us.
As a psychological construct, courage represents the capacity to exercise control over the internal (emotional) and external (environmental) states that affect one’s life to overcome personal limitations and pursue meaningful development for one’s life through the attainment of goals, dreams, or visions that bring wholeness to life (Heshmat). However, how can we muster some of this secret ingredient to engage in life meaningfully?
Courageous Based Mindset
As with any psychological construct, a character trait risks becoming unbalanced when left unchecked by rationale, common sense, and internal pillars of balance that create body, mind, and spiritual wellbeing. As a psychotherapist of over 23 years, I have found when you help individuals create balance in their lives, the negative undercurrents that affect them begin to slip away in the face of a more enlightened and enlivened state of hope. Hope and faith drive psychological development and create the foundation for moments where happiness can arise even in the most dire of circumstances.
While I focus a great deal on the psychological in my writings, I cannot underscore the importance of the physical and spiritual in the journey to find wellbeing. Generally, I have witnessed those more willing to balance the three constructs of body, mind, and spiritual wellbeing find inner peace and balance in a much more significant and sustainable way than those who assume a dogged, one-sided approach to life.
The Psyche-Spiritual Perspective
Let us examine the psyche-spiritual perspective for one moment to elicit the hidden depths of possibility present in the guise of courage. The Gospel of Mark states that Jesus, while speaking to that which defiles, indicated that it is not what comes into the person that defiles the soul. Instead, it is what the person processes and then externalizes that defiles the soul spiritually.
While I am approaching the construct of bravery from a spiritual perspective, bear with me, for the psycho-spiritual axis is an integral part of a holistic approach to personal wellbeing, and it bears weight to mention it here in relationship to developing personal courage.
When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
“Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?”
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.” (Mark, 7: 14-23)
It takes a brave soul to declare something against the norm. We understand the consequences that Jesus suffered to teach these lessons. They are also similar to the ostracization one faces when they tell an unpopular truth about an emperor’s new wardrobe, which may be non-existent.
Yet, to engage courage from a psycho-spiritual mindset, we must first tap into those inner resources of our truth, even if that truth may go against what is popular at the moment. Bravery, valor, gallantry, and the other synonyms for courage, when linked to a higher purpose, power (God), or vision, create the inner tests of will that foster inner growth through a process of vision making for one’s life and the realization of one’s aims. Courage does not exist in a vacuum; instead, it must link to that sense of higher purpose that drives our maturational journey.
The Grounded Perspective: Believe What You See!
Testing one at this primal level intimately connects the soul towards a higher wavelength of being through the possibility yet manifested. As author and psychologist Dr. Wayne Dyer once said,
“When you squeeze an orange, you’ll always get orange juice to come out. What comes out is what’s inside. The same logic applies to you: when someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, or says something unflattering or critical, and out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, tension, depression, or anxiety, that is what’s inside. If love and joy are what you want to give and receive, change your life by changing what’s inside.”
― Wayne W. Dyer
You can’t squeeze an orange and get apple juice. Likewise, you cannot squeeze someone who hates, is envious, or engages in the follies of arrogance or deceit and expect anything more than that to emerge from those most unflattering traits.
Maya Angelou once said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Yet this need not be the case only from a negative perspective, for bravery and valor can be easily identified from eyes willing to see the beauty present in the simplest tasks.
Encountering courage need not be a hero’s journey. It can exist in the simple acts of life. An example is a parent willing to care for their children at the expense of refraining from more desirous ambitions such as career or education. It takes great bravery to stand steadfast against social pressures derailing someone from their inner calling or what may constitute their life success. Yet, by following one’s path, that parent may be moving more in line with their soul’s longing than they would by engaging in other actions.
Our journeys are highly individual, yet in saying so, it is the responsibility of each person to live with the responsibilities and benefits, responsibility first, that manifests from the choice undertaken. While this represents one example of an undercurrent for bravery, there are numerous roads to realizing inner potential. While it may be courageous to dance your dance, even when it may be going against the grain, that choice will have good and bad consequences.
It is not appropriate to pass on consequences for actions undertaken, as part of a brave mindset includes being accountable for the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of one’s choices. To engage in valor, you cannot have your cake and eat it too. Instead, you must learn to envision, engage, be accountable to, redirect from, and re-engage separate or slightly modified paths toward your vision. By engaging that inner grit, you ultimately learn the means for happiness, peace, and inner wellbeing, which are possible only through your willingness to provoke brave actions aimed at an attainable goal.
I hope you enjoyed today’s foray into the depths of courage and its effect on our psychological health. As always, my friends, may blessings find you on your journey to brave the inner landscapes, envision, believe, and advance confidently in the direction of your dreams.
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References
Heshmat, Shahram. “10 Sources of a Courageous Mindset.” Psychology Today, 29 July 2022, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/202207/10-sources-courageous-mindset. Accessed 6 February 2024.