Courage in Life

Source : Eugene Loh, A Slice of Life, 938LIVE, a station of MediaCorp Radio

An old saying goes "Courage is the most important virtue of all."

Everything that involves making a decision, no matter how tiny or taken for granted needs courage. Even a thing as simple as waking up and facing each day requires courage. The act of standing up to a corrupt government requires courage. Moving into a new career requires courage. Attending the first day of school requires courage. Every single act is a victory in itself and should be acknowledged and appreciated.

Many people sleep all the time, even when they are awake. They fantasize of the unattainable and neglect what they already have. These people don't have the courage to wake up in the morning and face the days ahead. Instead, they snuggle inside the deepest part of their soul and feel sorry for themselves.

It is normal, however, to temporarily lose that sense of courage. Every time we encounter unfamiliar territory, we might feel depressed. The only difference, however, that distinguishes a courageous person from the rest of his or her peers is "how long" the depressed period lasts.

Fortunately, cultivating courage doesn't require any special lesson. It simply starts with a choice to be and to start it mindfully.

Here are some tips to develop the courage to take over control of your life.

Don't make any assumptions about anything. Usually, worry comes when you assume something bad is going to happen.

Forgive yourself. Many of us can easily forgive others, but can never forgive ourselves. Forgiving our past mistakes is the key to bounce back with renewed strength.

Now here's a trick - Pretend to be brave, and you are courageous instantly! If you can convince your mind that it's just play-acting, a game with no real consequences, you'll find it easier to be courageous.

Remember, happiness comes when you choose to start living and stop worrying. Worrying too much won't do any good, mostly because it can swallow up your courage and leave you with nothing else than an empty soul and shaky hands.

Once you have the courage within, you will be ready to perform the other virtues of life. It would be impossible to be compassionate to others if you don't have the courage. It would be impossible to be grateful to others if you don't have the courage. It would be impossible to do thousands of other virtues if you don't have the courage to simply be true to yourself.

Bflygal's comments:
I got this on 24th Aug and had wanted to blog it... Courage is something I am lacking. And it is something that I BADLY need. To contribute, to go out to the world, to realised my dreams. I need a lot of courage but I'm easily afraid. Sigh.

Anyway my first display of courage came when I decided to attend InvestFair 2007 (discussed later). I finally decided it is time to figure out this area which I had no interest initially but which I know is an area I need to tap into.

My next display of courage will come soon I hope. I know the reason why I need to embark on it. Hmm suddenly a phrase pops into my mind, "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going".

Anyway I had an interesting chat with my ex-colleague today and I finally realised why my classmate wanted to hear opinions from his colleagues. Indeed what my colleague shared with me is something very revolutionary, very shocking. I guess colleagues really are a better judge but then who am I kidding. I see these people 5 days a week, 8 hours a day. Of course they know me better than my classmates. Plus he had seen me in action since I stepped into office day 1 which was almost 3 years ago already. Besides my study attitude has been pretty consistent (aka I'm always a slacker.. never really believe in studying too hard because somehow ECAs are always more fun... just that masters has no ECA sighz).

When he told me he seen the change in my attitude too, I know it is REALLY a serious problem. I know I have been submitting sub-standard work which I hated too. I don't like my sloppy attitude I'm displaying and he asked me what the reason is. While others were consistent in their actions, I was totally haphazard. That was something I never realised, that I veer off at both extremes. I know I'm easily affected that is why I usually try to delay my reaction to allow my logic control me. But being inconsistent... gosh!

Anyway I told him why I desperately want to find back my spark. I owe it to my DM to go this far and learnt this much. If I have been seen as comparing with my counterparts, then I have to say maybe I once did compare out of my own competitive nature. But I always know how my DM and ISM felt about me and thus I never really blame them for my sudden deterioration in work attitude. It is something else that causes it and while he told me something shocking that I never knew, I shall blame it on my own youth's recklessness. Maybe if I am 5 years older than now, I might react differently. But because I'm still young and 意气用事, I can't swallow certain things. And thus I might have offended some people accidentally.

One thing for sure, I am definitely making sure that I have sufficient courage to do what I should do when the time is ripe. To have the courage to face the true ME!