COURAGE OVER COMFORT
Courage is not about being ready. It is about being willing to practice.
As Brené Brown says, “You can choose courage or you can choose comfort. You cannot have both.”
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 of $800 left to my name, 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 just lost my home, with 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 forward directly into the winds of fear.
You know that feeling, don’t you?
That inner nudge to step forward even when you feel far from ready?
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. I lived scared; hiding from myself. Deep within, I knew I was hiding purely out of 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 of the mess that happens along the way to creating a true and beautiful life.
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 and simply talk about being fierce and free one day. Or we choose to practice—day in and day out—to awaken to who we truly are, what we are really capable of, and who we are meant to become. We take small steps, building in consistency, transforming our success from the inside out, the place from which all true sustainability and ease is born.
HERE IS WHAT I KNOW TO BE TRUE
Courage in conscious practice changes everything because it changes us. When we are willing to actually put our courage into motion, we open ourselves up to create, connect, 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 a false sense of comfort or 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.
Transformation, after all, is just the beginning, isn’t it?
WHY CHOOSE CONSISTENT PRACTICE
This practice is rarely easy but it is always worth it. It 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;
- Connect with genuine compassion, empathy, and honesty, even when it’s hard’;
- Commit to the actual practice, even when no one is looking;
- to name a few…
WHERE IS YOUR COURAGE CALLING YOU THIS YEAR?
What inner nudge keeps whispering to you?
What do you keep putting off because you’re not feeling ready?
Name it aloud. Right now—just for yourself—in this moment.
Powerfully claim the change you desire.
Whether you’re looking to be more courageous in one specific area of your life or a handful of them, this practice is for you. You needn’t be ready; just willing.
With you, for you,
