W.I.N. Wednesday: Want to grow? Do this.
My friend, mentor and business associate Roy Bethge, the co-founder of The Virtus Leadership Group, speaks and writes about the importance of Growing Courage. I have had the pleasure of teaching a Growing Courage class with Roy and spoke about Growing Courage during my TEDx talk.
The question that often comes up is, "How does one go about growing courage?" For the answer to that question I am going to draw on two different sources.
The first is Pete Carroll, the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. In his book Win Forever, Pete Carroll explains one of the key elements to the Win Forever philosophy is Practice is Everything.
The second is researcher and author Brene Brown. In The Gifts of Imperfection Brene Brown tells us: “Practicing courage, compassion, and connection in our daily lives is how we cultivate worthiness. The key word is practice. Mary Daly, a theologian, writes, “Courage is like—it’s a habitus, a virtue: You get it by courageous acts. It’s like you learn to swim by swimming. You learn courage by couraging.”
The key to all growth is practice. Growth is not the result of a single event or single act. The only way to Grow Courage is to practice it in your daily life.
How do you do that?
- Do what is right. What is right is not always what is popular or what is expedient, but it is always what is right. Doing what is right takes courage.
- Stand up, speak up and own up when you screw up. It takes courage to admit you made a mistake or were wrong.
- Stand up for others. The world is full of bullies. It takes courage to stand up for both yourself and others especially when the bully is the boss. (Read the book The No Assholes Rule for some tips)
- Embrace change. Change is often scary. Have the courage to embrace change.
- Dare to be great. Being mediocre is easy. Sticking with the status quo is easy. Daring to be great is a process that can be scary because it involves risk and failure. Have the courage to dare to be great.
Use Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now? to help guide your daily practice of Growing Courage.
Take care.
Brian Willis
www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com
Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?
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