10 Ways to Become More Courageous

This week we will be learning about courage. What does courage look like? Taking care of your health, establishing new goals or even taking the steps to meet established ones - these are acts of courage. When you step out of your comfort zone, you are being courageous. Why is it important to have courage? For one, courage helps us overcome limitations like fear and anxiety. Courage can also help us heal.

So how can we develop a mindset of courage and become better at it? According to Psychology Today, these are the factors that will help you develop courage.

1. Pursuing a meaningful goal
Courageous people are often dedicated to causes they find meaningful and that gives them a sense of purpose. People with a sense of purpose feel less anxiety and stress. Self-growth can mean pursuing learning for its own sake, not just for external achievement (e.g., playing music, helping the vulnerable, or spending time in nature).

2. There is no courage without fear
As Mark Twain said, “Courage is not the lack of fear, it is the acting in spite of it.” Facing fear when the odds are in your favor makes fewer demands on courage than when the odds are against you. For example, a shy person who manages to give a public speech shows an act of courage.

3. Self-confidence
Self-confidence means believing that one can meet the demands of a task. A belief that “we can do it” will make a difference when the time comes for courageous action. The confident individual is more likely to persist in the face of obstacles. The more self-confident you are, the less fear you will experience in navigating a crisis or traumatic event. Self-confidence is acquired by knowledge, practice/experience, and effort. When low self-confidence causes people to avoid activities, they miss opportunities to grow.

4. Managing your feelings
The ability to self-regulate under intense challenges is an important skill for courageous individuals. One of the central ideas in emotion regulation is that the way you think largely shapes how you feel. As the stoic philosopher, Epictetus said, “it is not events that disturb people, it is their judgments concerning them.” Few things cause more distress than fighting against circumstances outside of our control or getting attached to an outcome that isn’t in our power. So, it is important to recognize what we can (and can’t) control. Knowing that we have done our best given the circumstances leads to the calm acceptance of whatever happens. Courageous people typically also have a greater sense of humor. Humor provides distance and perspective but does so without denying pain or fear.

5. Being Authentic
Authenticity is essential to courage. It means being the person one claims to be. Courageous people are willing to face unpleasant truths about themselves without getting defensive or trying to rationalize them away.

6. Empathy
Courageous people have the ability to see others’ points of view. It takes great courage to endure our own suffering, but it is suffering that transforms us into more compassionate people. Compassion and empathy help us to keep going when we struggle.

7. Situational demands
Situational demand (or rising to the occasion) for courage promotes courageous behavior despite fear. Due to our biological survival instincts, when a situation becomes difficult, we tend to work harder to meet the challenge. For example, a drug addict after hitting rock bottom earns a graduate degree in addiction treatment to help others with drug problems.

8. The decision-making process
Acts of bravery rely on instinct rather than an active thought process. Evidence shows that brave individuals often act on their impulses, perhaps skipping conscious decision-making.

9. Social connectedness
Courageous people have a social support system from which to draw strength. They also provide social support to others. The availability of social support reduces anxiety and stress. After all, it feels easier to face adversity (e.g., loss of a loved one) when you have a close friend that you can rely upon.

10. Courage is a muscle you develop over time
Perhaps the best way to think of courage is to treat it as a muscle. Some people are born with better muscles than others, but everyone can improve their muscles through practice. Practicing small acts of courage (things that make you uncomfortable) can expand your comfort zone.