“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because, without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”
― Maya Angelou
Have you found yourself in a space where you cannot do or achieve much? Do you constantly procrastinate? This is because you lack courage. Lack of courage at times emanates from life experiences.
Please understand that courage is a quality you can always have. It helps you make decisions about how you want things to work out. It also guides and supports you to follow your heart when your head is skeptical. It is the moral or mental strength of being able to venture and withstand the fear of trying and risking. It is also the ability to do something frightening.
It is the choice to confront agony, intimidation, pain, and danger. It is being comfortable with the conflict inherent to the course of action. If you are courageous, then you are someone who decides to do something even though you may be afraid or have no experience.
Courage is showcased in many instances like;
- When you choose to have a difficult conversation even though you feel very anxious about it.
- When you step up and decide to give a speech to a large group despite your knees shaking and knocking.
Courage versus Confidence
Confidence, on the other hand, is a feeling. It is the inner knowledge of being capable and sure of your abilities and capabilities. If you feel confident, then you feel sure about your abilities and qualities.
Confidence can come and go depending on many factors, just like any other feeling. This is because feelings are generated in our bodies and minds and change every additional time depending on what you are asked to do, where you are asked to do it, and when you are asked to do it. This is shown in different instances like;
- You might be more confident leading a group discussion with a few familiar individuals than leading a whole class discussion.
- You might be confident to pray for a meal during a family dinner but not confident enough to pray during a service in the church in front of large masses.
Courage is the ability to take action despite fear, while confidence is being sure of what you are capable of. Courage is thriving under uncertainty, while confidence is the assessment afterward.
Courage is a prerequisite before confidence. It is needed to get the initial experience, and it is this experience that brings confidence. Confidence is built through the experience of taking action.
We spend a lot of time seeking more confidence to do something rather than getting the courage to pursue whatever is at hand. If we wait to feel confident about something before doing it, we put off the possibility and may lose out on what could be.
Courage gives you the power to chase after what you want. It bolsters your confidence and allows you to believe in your abilities. With courage, there is no fear, while in the real sense, courage is not the absence of fear.
In the absence of confidence, courage takes over and overcomes a lack of confidence, which builds self-esteem, but without courage, we may never develop confidence.
Courage is an executive virtue. On our way to achieving different objectives, we come across scary obstacles, and it is with courage that we manage to get through the situations. The secret to gaining courage is trusting in your resiliency.
