Courage is not about being ready. It is about being willing to practice.
Ready is an illusion. If we wait until we are ready, we will be waiting forever.
I know this well. I wasn’t ready to begin The Courage Practice. I was far from ready actually — in every sense of the word.
I was an entrepreneur’s daughter with a dream, a shoestring budget, a chronic health condition, and grieving the loss of a job I loved after ten years of working with the most incredible people. I had no home, no emergency savings fund, no health insurance, and a mountain of healthcare bills in my inbox.
This doesn’t exactly seem like the time to start a business, does it?
But I couldn’t shake the nudge. That deep, inner knowing whispering to shed the ‘shoulds,’ make friends with my courage, and step into the arena of my highest potential.
A WILD RISK, THE BEST DECISION
Courage in practice has literally transformed my life — and it continues to every day I show up to actually practice it. For those who may be new to my story, I spent the first half of life choosing comfort. It was my middle name, always desiring to ensure a soft landing before I ever took a risk. Simply put, I was living scared and hiding from myself. I knew I was hiding in fear but wasn’t sure how to step forward — in my leadership, life, and love. I kept waiting to be ready. I kept waiting for clarity before I took a leap. The truth is I was just scared.
Then my mother died and time took on a whole new meaning.
Living with integrity did too.
Courage can be a mere profession in our lives or it can be an actual practice. We can stay comfortable or we can awaken to who we really are, what we are capable of, and who we are meant to become. The Courage Practice combines inner wisdom with outer strategy to elevate our unique brilliance and propel us forward to lead, live, and love the way we really want.
HERE IS WHAT I KNOW TO BE TRUE
Courage in conscious practice changes everything because it changes us. When we are willing to actually practice courage, we open ourselves up to create and contribute in the ways most meaningful to us. We look our fears directly in the eye. We don’t shy away from the tough questions or actions; we lean in and engage them.
We also choose to dedicate ourselves to our becoming rather than to an illusion of arrival or result. We fall in love with the practice itself and every abundance that follows is a fabulous outcome to a transformative experience.
THE COURAGE PRACTICE APPROACH
The Courage Practice is an inside-out, soul-to-strategy approach guiding you to build a personalized practice to strengthen, shape, and empower you to live, love, and lead in more conscious and courageous ways.
No two practices are the same. This practice is rarely easy but it is always worth it. This work empowers us to:
- Take the wise, integral actions over the quick and comfortable ones;
- Strengthen our awareness and choice of thoughts, beliefs, patterns, and habits;
- Develop an unwavering trust in our own intuition rather than seeking external affirmation;
- Navigate change and transition with greater confidence and ease;
- Lean toward the challenges rather than run, numb, or ignore them;
- Show up consistently—day in, day out—leaving our best on the floor of the arena;
- Cultivate resilience by learning how and when to listen, act, rest, and rejuvenate;
- Commit to the actual practice, even when no one is looking
- to name a few…
WHERE DO YOU WANT TO BE MORE COURAGEOUS?
What inner nudge keeps whispering to you? What do you keep putting off because you’re not feeling ready?
Whether you’re looking to be more courageous in one specific area of your life or a handful of them, choose to develop your own unique practice of courage this year and see what happens within you and for you.
You needn’t be ready; just willing to practice.