Brave?

Many of us would not describe ourselves as brave individuals. We have a persona in mind that doesn’t “look” like us. The person is strong physically or assertive in their communications or bold in their risk-taking or any number of other descriptors. 

But brave isn’t about one type of person. It’s a mindset, behaviors, and actions that we all have the ability to reach for when needed. Brave can come in all shapes and sizes.

Brave can look like:

• Raising your hand to speak in a setting where you know no one

• Introducing yourself to a stranger

• Trying a new activity that sounds like fun but is intimidating

• Continuing to push towards a goal when roadblocks appear

• Showing up for the people who rely on you even when you don’t want to

• Asking for help and support when you are struggling

• Speaking up for yourself or someone else that is being bullied or harassed or being treated unfairly

• Committing to a new job that you’re excited about but that scares you because you’re not sure you have all of the right skills and experiences

• Moving to a new location where you don’t know other people

• Agreeing to do a thrill-type activity – roller coaster, sky diving, cliff jumping

Brave can be something that appears smalls to others but that feels big to you or something that truly is the big, hairy, scary thing for anyone or somewhere in the middle. Your brave moment does not need to equal what brave means to me. And my brave moments may be small or big depending on the circumstance in front of me.

Merriam-Webster defines brave as “having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty: having or showing courage.” All of us have the ability to be brave.

Moving towards “brave” requires four steps:

1. Identifying the activity or behavior that scares you and why

2. Outlining the upside of being brave. What is the ideal outcome?

3. Articulating the downside of doing what scares you

    a. What’s the likelihood that the worst thing would happen?

    b. What’s the impact if you do fail?

4. Deciding which needs to carry more weight for you at that point in time – the benefits from doing it or the risks if it doesn’t go as planned.

Brave isn’t about a right or a wrong choice. It’s about doing something when it’s the next right thing to do even though it scares you.

If you are choosing to go down the “brave” road, align these three things:

1. Mindset/Self-Talk

    a. I believe I will be successful. 

    b. I will learn something from this experience that I wouldn’t if I didn’t try

    c. I have what I need to (or can get it) to do this.

2. Behaviors

    a. Bring confidence to the situation

    b. Acknowledge your fears but don’t let them hold you back

3. Actions

   a. Do what you planned to do

   b. Learn from it whether it goes amazingly well or dreadfully bad

   c. Decide what to do next

We all need to be brave leaders of ourselves and others right now. Now is not the time to sit back and hold everything in or worry about all the what-ifs that may not even be likely. Now is the time to decide what brave looks like for you today, for this year, for this decade.

How do you want brave to show up in your world? Does it need to be big and bold, or does it need to be understated? Only you have the answer to that question.

Test out what brave can mean for you today.