Courage is knowing what not to fear.
– Plato
It is courage that opens the door to discovering the unexplored. Courage builds confidence and helps us keep believing in ourselves. Nothing can be done without it.
There is one great quote by Mark Twain, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
Courage does not imply an absence of fear, rather it refers to knowing what to fear and what not to fear. It is all about overcoming one’s fears to begin a new endeavor.
Isn’t it true that starting something new takes courage?
We are always frightened of losing when we try to do something for the very first time, and that’s where courage comes in. It motivates us to take the first step by overcoming our fear.
Courage is what lets us overcome our fears
In this case, it’s not about the absence of fear, zero fear couldn’t be possible at least in real life. Remember, one should always be afraid of doing something unethical or wrong. Wouldn’t the absence of fear be the scariest thing?
The goal of this is to overcome the fear in order to move forward towards the goal, so it does not block your vision.
Don’t let fear of failure stop you from achieving your goals by limiting your vision. Remember, fear is normal and everyone fears something, It’s just a matter of getting used to it and then everything will feel normal.
We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
– Franklin D. Roosevelt
Embrace the challenges, that’s what makes life interesting and meaningful. Challenges are totally subjective and directly depend on someone’s experience to handle them.
As an example, a junior-level programmer may find the programming bug challenging and complex, while a senior programmer may find it a piece of cake.
Whenever you overcome a challenge, you gain courage and gain resilience to try out new things which are normally blocked by fear. This is how courage can help you overcome fear, so you can fully live your life and try out and experiment with new things.
Courage is knowing what not to fear, wisdom is knowing what not to overcome
Would you agree that fear isn’t bad in some cases?
In a civilized society, there should always be a sense of fear of doing something unlawful or unethical. Having no fear whatsoever sounds so terrifying and may not even fit into the normal definition of what a civilized society is.
Knowledge of what not to do is the basis of wisdom. Not all fears should be overcome, especially those that lead to illegal or unethical behavior. And that is why fear can be a useful tool for separating good from the bad.
Fear isn’t always a bad thing, It enables us to be decisive since it enables us to evaluate things first before taking action. This is what sets a boundary and enables us to make sensible decisions. Another way to put it is fear keeps you safe. For example, whenever we drive, it is the fear of an accident that keeps us within the speed limit.
There is no education like adversity.
– Benjamin Disraeli
Basically, there are two sides to fear. The first is what separates the good from the bad. That’s what makes us take safe decisions and keeps everything safe.
On the other hand, fear of really small things can lead to anxiety, and here it is not about overcoming the fear of doing something wrong. It is about overcoming fear in order to reach goals, to do even the simplest of things.
It could be, for instance, stage fright. Isn’t that fairly common?
Many of us have stage fright, probably because most of us are not used to public speaking. But how do we overcome them?
It is possible to overcome what we are afraid to do by performing it. After giving a few public speeches, anyone can become accustomed to it, which is how one overcomes stage fright. Getting used to what you’re afraid to do will help you overcome that fear. Just practice the thing you’re scared of, get used to it, and in the end, everything will feel normal.
However, finding the courage to do something wrong isn’t what this is about. One certainly shouldn’t even imagine doing something wrong. Fear’s main purpose should be to categorize something good or bad, in order to keep everyone safe and healthy.
What if one does not fear his or her health and finds the courage to eat unhealthy food? Isn’t that a bad idea? This is where fear takes a vital role.
However, never let the smallest of issues or the fear of failing stop you from reaching for the dreams you’ve always dreamed of. Don’t let it stop you from taking big steps in your life.
You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.
– Aristotle
