56. Choose Courage

Today I want to talk about courage.

The courage it’s going to take to do your most important tasks today, it’s important.

Showing up early, staying late. Making the phone call. Cheering someone on when you’re feeling down personally. Deciding to cook chicken instead of ordering pizza.

It takes courage, and it’s hard work.

This week I was feeling discouraged for a few moments. I wasn’t feeling up for what I know I was meant to do next. I even delayed the inevitable, changed plans and adapted my day so I wouldn’t have to be courageous. At least for a little while longer.

The thing is that it takes courage to do anything beyond getting out of bed. Every act against the grain is an act of courage.

I’m not trying to simply hand out participation awards here, but I am trying to give you a pat on the back and a little encouragement to keep going, wherever it is you’re trying to get.

There will always be moments of discouragement on the road to fulfillment, but I hope you can recognize the same thing I did this week.

I had a plan at the start of the day, but half way through I was discouraged, ready to admit defeat and perhaps try again tomorrow. I lacked the courage to continue to show up for myself and my goals.

But here’s why I’m talking about this right now.

In that moment of discouragement, I abandoned my plans, went home and waved a white flag. Out of routine, I had some lunch, read a couple chapters of a good book, then I realized something.

I didn’t feel discouraged anymore.

Those feelings of discouragement were fleeting. It took nothing more than a full stomach and a brain reset to muster up what it would take to move forward. That, and a couple steaming cups of damn fine coffee.

That day, I had told my wife I had changed my plans because I didn’t have the courage to follow through on what I told her I was going to do. An hour later I told her I think I found the courage.

Don’t discredit yourself and expect it to be easy. It won’t be easy. You’re going to need courage to raise a family, start a business, be a good friend and positive contributor to your community.

Every time you do something you know was the right thing to do, own it, pat yourself on the back and remind yourself that you must be feeling extra courageous today. If you have that thought, go ahead, see what else you can do.

The path of least resistance is the path that requires no courage, and it’s the path to mediocrity. If you feel a bit discouraged, like you could use a white flag to wave around, then you must be on to something good.

If you want to do what I did and wave that flag a while, it might just be what you need, at least only for a moment.

You might need to take a time out, a breather or just a few minutes to brew a fresh pot of coffee. You might rediscover your courage in those moments, but here’s the thing, you have to find it.

Courage can’t be borrowed, it needs to be generated. Don’t wait for someone else to inspire you because they might not show up. Go ahead and generate your own courage from other sources, but make sure you seek it out.

I hope reading this gives you some courage today, but even if it does, it’s you that chose to read. It’s you who figured it was worth your while to see what I have to say.

It struck me when that feeling of discouragement evaporated and was replaced with what I could only describe as courage.

It reminded me that I already knew it’s not supposed to be easy. It reminded me that easy days lead nowhere fast. It’s the hard ones, the ones requiring courage that confirm at least some things are going well.

The next thing to realize is that courage is like a muscle. It can be developed, built, it can grow, get stronger, have more impact and pack a harder punch. That is if it’s stressed and forced to be worked.

Like your bicep, your courage muscle will atrophy if you don’t get your reps in.

This is why it might seem like some people don’t need courage as much as you do. Believe me, they do, they probably have just done more reps.

They’ve increased their tolerance to discouragement by practicing being courageous, which is exactly what you should do.

As the story goes, when you pray for courage, God gives you opportunities to be courageous.

If it feels like nobody could possibly handle the things you’re faced with, could it be that this is your opportunity? Maybe this is your chance to become the courageous version of yourself you were meant to be.

I don’t know what you’re going through or what you’ve been through, but I know you’re going to need courage to keep being extraordinary.

If you feel like you’ve got a little extra, maybe you could be the one to inspire someone else. Maybe the first person you text today could use a little pick me up, and maybe you could be the one to give it to them.

Heck, that would take courage.

— Cody

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See you next Thursday.

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