What Does Everyday Courage Look Like?

“Be strong and courageous” is one of my life mottos.  It is a bible verse from Joshua 1:9 I used when opening OTF.  Courage is easy to see in the “Goliath decisions,” but what does this look like in everyday living?

Recently, I have been thinking more about courage on a daily basis as a result of listening to and reading several things by Brene Brown.  If you haven’t heard her Ted talks or read her books, I would highly recommend it.  She defines courage as telling who you are with your whole heart and showing your imperfections.  Letting go of who you think you “should” be to just be who you are. 

For me, it is really easy to just be what is expected.  To look, act, and talk a certain way.  However, I have found when I do that, true connection is missing.  True connection comes with letting people see the real you.  I don’t believe I am alone in the struggle to be real with people.  I get the privilege to hear stories from our members, their struggles and their journeys.  It is one of my favorite parts of owning OTF.  I see courage in all of their stories.  It takes courage for them to share their struggles and accomplishments.   In a lot of cases there are tears with the story, but they tell it anyway.  It makes me want to be braver. 

Last week I sent our leadership team a message that shared some of my “whys” for making the decisions I had.  It was a hard email to write and send because it was more personal than usual.  However, I thought it was important for them to understand.  I called each of them later in the week and asked for feedback.  They were all helpful and gave me feedback and appreciated me being honest with them.    Why did I share that?  Because I believe courage happens one email, one conversation, walking through one open door at a time….even when you don’t know the outcome.  It is the choice on a daily basis to be the person you were meant to be.  I would love to hear your feedback on what being brave has looked like for you!