Gaining Courage and the Three Kinds of Courage You Need Through Life

Be brave!

What is fear? Fear is the most basic of human emotions. When we first came into this planet, man was filled with fear. We were fearful because we wanted to survive. But what is courage? Courage is the direct opposite of fear. It is the ability to face any situation; whether death, pain or everyday burdens and be able to stay strong.

According to a lot of famous and wise people courage is one of the most important virtues; if not the most important virtue of all. Courage does not only mean bravery and gallantry, courage is ability to conquer fear and stand against it.

Forms of Courage

Courage has always been vital for human survival. It allows us to traverse through daily life and not crumble. Courage also enables us to go through life even though the future maybe uncertain. This virtue allows us to do great feats, travel great lengths and achieve great things. Courage is the father of love, patience, ambition and perseverance.

The jump out of the plane and fly kind of courage.

1. Endurance of Daily Adversity

Daily life can be hard, really hard. We have many challenges. Bills to pay, work to be done, family and friends to live with and so many things that demand our time and energy. The sheer ability to go to bed and night and hope for a better day tomorrow and be able to wake up the next day and smile at the sunshine is courage.

Life is difficult and many times we don’t realize how brave we are in our endurance to withstand all the struggles that life throws us. There are times we get really scared because some days have bigger challenges than others but we still strive to live and survive and be happy.

2. The Courage to Face Uncertainty

There are many uncertain things that we have to face. There are great decisions in life that we have to make. The ability to handle confusing situations requires a brave heart. Uncertainty can sometimes swallow those who are fearful and leaves them frozen.

3. Fearlessness in the face of pain, danger and death.

This is the type of courage that allows you to jump our of planes and fly in the skies. This is the type of bravery that allows you to conquer the moment and just do it. This form of courage allows you to live the most exciting life ever. On the other hand, this type of courage also gives you the most serene heart. For without the fear of death, you will always be able to smile at life.

I have often thought about this type of courage. This courage that stems from a calm and peaceful heart yet it is able to race and power you in the most dire situations. This is the type of courage that allows you to think and act fast in times of danger.

Why Do We Need Courage?

We need courage to live each day as if it was our last.

Courage enables us to love, give, live, and grow in spite of all the adversities of life. Many things frighten the human heart. The human heart is so feeble that we sometimes become too scared to move. But humans have been brave through out the centuries. Our courage has allowed us to discover fire, new countries, elements, planets and even stars in the universe.

Courage is not the brash and unthinking act of ramming into nothingness, courage is the ability to think, act and live with that decision. We need courage in order to survive. We need it to LOVE. We need lot’s of courage to enjoy life.

1. Courage allows us to love.

Love is one of the scariest things that can ever happen to the human heart. It removes our rhyme and reason. It gives us this blissful feeling, yet it opens us to heart and pain. When we fall in love, we need to be courageous too. We need to learn how to live with pain, hurt, sorrow and being vulnerable.

Love is an all consuming feeling, without courage, it can destroy us as well. With courage, we can love without expectations and give without demanding anything in return. Through a brave heart, we can love and think of the person we love before we even think about ourselves.

2. Courage allows us to do great things.

We all know their names Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Gautama Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth, Mohammad, Pablo Picasso, Marie Curie, Helen Keller and the list goes on. This men and women, scientists, prophets and great minds all had courage. They were able to withstand and the ridicule around them and do great things and discover wonderful truths.

Courage allows us to be ingenious and gives us the ability to think, invent, play and create without fear. A lot of times, fear stops us from becoming the person we have so wanted to be because we are afraid that we will never make it. But with enough heart and courage anything is possible.

3. Courage allows us to be kind.

Kindness is a virtue that we have always have had in our hearts. But due to fear and hurt that we have experienced, we turn away from kindness. We become fearful of what is to come and that people may abuse us. We become fearful of stray animals because they may hurt us. We become afraid of getting sick if we go near sick people. But courage erases all the fear and gives us the kind heart that can help others who are in need.

4. Courage allows us to enjoy life.

Life is an awfully big adventure. There are so many places to see, things to do and people to meet. If we have courage, we can travel the world. We can do things that bring our adrenaline levels high.

On the other hand, courage also gives us a beautiful and serene heart ready to accept pain, danger and death as part of life. Humans tend to cling on things, people and possession too much. But there is nothing permanent in this life. We fear death, we fear pain and we fear loss. But if we abandon our attachment and learn to be brave enough to forget the desires of our heart, we can be able to smile at any adversity that may happen. Yes there will be grief and sorrow, but there will acceptance as well.

Gaining Courage

A brave heart is a serene heart.

So how do you become courageous? Simple, you have to breathe. Breathe and think. Breathe and live. I know that that sounds vague and confusing, but it is really simple as that. Fear clouds the mind and makes us anxious. In order to be brave, we need to take a deep breath and tell ourselves that we can make it no matter what and go for what will make us happy.

When gain courage, we gain happiness, when we gain happiness, we gain life. So be brave! You can do it!