My Life Coach - Client Area

What Is Courage

Generously contributed by Dwight GoldWinde, Coach and Revolutionary Thinker

You can get Dwight's book, Courage: THE Choice that makes THE Difference, here:

www.xlibris.com/CourageTheChoiceThatMakestheDifference.html

And visit Dwight at his website, www.goldwinde.com

Courage is the will and the willingness
     to embrace and fully feel your fear
     as you take the actions and risks
     in service to
     your highest commitments and deepest desires.

Courage is created; it is chosen.
     And it is chosen in the moment.
     It is always available to you.
     It is always an open door,
          waiting for you to walk through or not.
Courage cannot be stored or built up.
It's inaccurate to say that you "have courage"
     or you "don't have courage."
It's accurate to say that you "choose courage"
     or "choose to feel safe in the moment
          rather than choose courage."

Many of us appear to choose courage when,
     in fact, the courage we choose
     is only "standing on one leg."
Almost all of us are masters
     at suppressing, denying, camouflaging,
          contracting against, and/or pushing away
          (or trying to argue away) our fear.

We do this for the deadening, anesthetic effect
     we expect it to have on our fear.
Full courage includes
     a full acknowledgment, embodiment,
     and illumination of our fear
     while we are taking the appropriate actions.
It also includes an acknowledgment and honoring
     of ourselves for choosing the courage
     -regardless of the outcome.
Courage exists independently of the outcome.

Choosing courage (or not choosing courage)
     is neither good nor bad, neither right nor wrong.
     It is simply a choice,
          with associated benefits and costs.
A life primarily oriented
     towards the choice of courage
     will give you one life
     -a life you will love.
A life primarily oriented
     towards the choice of feeling safe and secure
     will give you another life
     -a life of survival and withdrawal.
It's okay to want to feel safe and secure.
     We all want that.
But, when feeling safe and secure becomes
     your primary orientation
     (usually by default),
     then you are living a life of avoidance
     rather than a life of inspiration.

-J. Dwight GoldWinde October 24th, 1991-
Copyright 1991-2005 Dwight GoldWinde