Are You Braver Than You Think?

I believe everyone is braver than they think. Some pull it off more easily and have a stronger self-belief that they are brave. But when it comes down to it, no, ma’am, no, sir, I have a strong gumption that you are not what you think you are.  Rather, you are much braver than what you tell yourself.

For the general population, we are survivors, thrivers, doers, be-ers, go-getters, livers. We have arrived on this planet and taken on a brave act the day we were born, trusting that super snug water slide of a birth canal would lead you out of  darkness and into the great, colorful unknown.

From there, anything and everything goes. We figure out our bodies, our muscles, our ability to interpret sounds around us, create our own sounds, embrace our voice, declare our importance by expressing our emotions through cries and babbles.

Fast forward beyond babyhood and you get a whole lifetime of challenges. Not just the obvious moments of achievement, getting up to face a crowd among stage fright or asking your crush to the dance. But also the super tiny moments like after a painfully heavy loss of a loved one, being able to get out of bed the next day. Or striding into a job interview with only a pretend confidence until you can start to believe and feel real confidence. Trusting someone with a secret about you, even if you’d been burned by that before. Choosing the viable career path no one you could do, or leaving a career when you felt it was right. Wearing yellow socks when your regimented world has only known black and white fashions.

You are brave when you share your values and beliefs, even if no one else seems to see the world the same way. You’re also brave when you respectfully listen to others who have their own unique beliefs. And that invites a world of possibility that not everyone has to be like anyone else. And please, for the love of all Cocoa Krispies, thank goodness we don’t all share the same exact beliefs or look the same or dress the same.

Brave are those willing to change a belief that feels too misaligned with their current world, who are willing to research and dive in to shape new beliefs if that is better aligned for themselves and the planet. Brave are those who care about people they have never met.

Brave are those who make eye contact. Brave are those who skip in public. Brave are those who show up every day. Brave are those ready to make that first step in sobriety. Brave are those who try again after every failure. Brave are those who cry. Brave are those who love. Brave are those who go to the doctor, even if they fear confirmation that a suspected spot might be malignant.

Brave are those willing to acknowledge they have a lot to learn, even if they’re 92. Brave are those who sing karaoke. Brave are those who create better worlds.

Brave are those who have faith. Faith in a higher being. Faith in science. Faith in  the unexplained wonders of the cosmos. Faith in humanity, even when violence and greed are all they know. Faith in a life can and will get better.

Faith takes bravery. Bravery takes faith.

In what ways are you brave? In what ways can you give yourself more credit for your bravery?