Perhaps this punchy quote is expected from President Theodore Roosevelt– The same man who was shot in the chest and instead of going to the hospital, proceeded with delivering a 90-minute-long speech! But isn’t such courage, though it will look different for each person, and hopefully less dramatic, the standard that we should attain to?
Comfort is achieved by remaining on the sidelines, but this is often at the expense of digging the grave of your own dreams. I think most of us want to “dare mighty things,” but when it comes down to it, that takes real vulnerability.
Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor who studies vulnerability and knows the immense struggle it is for so many. It takes courage to be vulnerable. In fact, Brown points out that the root word for courage is “cor,” which is Latin for heart, and an early definition of courage was “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.” In other words, courageous meant to bare your heart.
Mighty surf at Ho’okipa, Maui.
Think of people that you look up to for whatever reason– Chances are, they got to their current success by daring to be vulnerable; by baring their heart. For instance, many great authors, such as William Golding, E.E. Cummings, Jack London, Dr. Seuss, and J.K. Rowling were rejected by publishers numerous times before their famous books were finally published. So not only did they have to be vulnerable once, but after they failed, they had to be vulnerable again, and again, and again. Or take Walt Disney–…
