Jane Witherspoon is a Canadian expat adventurer, yoga instructor and passionate rambler who recently relocated from Panama to Denia, Spain.
Recently, a fellow Sole Sister posted a meme called “The Six Types of Courage”. After reading them it made me stop and reflect, how do I and others perceive courage?
When considering the act of courage it is with the thought that even though we may be afraid, we still choose to act anyway? All of us aspire to be courageous, it is viewed as a positive attribute and makes us worthy of the respect of others.
So let's break down the six types of courage:
Physical Courage - to keep going with balance, resilience and awareness.
This is the type of courage that most people associate with, deciding to do something physically difficult or potentially dangerous that is fear inducing. We all face these situations on a regular basis and when we choose to confront our fear of the situation, there is a feeling of accomplishment and pride after the fact.
Social Courage - to be yourself unapologetically.
Being socially courageous can mean standing tall, greeting the world with your head held high and feeling comfortable with who you are. The fear of not conforming, social disapproval, ridicule or attracting attention can be difficult even for the most confident individual but it is important that we stand up for what we need or want and believe in their value.
For those who are shy or introverted this can be especially challenging. Remember that social courage is also being a leader and standing up for and offering when you see others wants or needs.
Moral Courage - do the right thing even when it is uncomfortable or unpopular.
Moral courage is standing up for and practicing ethical behavior when faced with a dilemma even when faced with pressure to do otherwise. It is a willingness to protect our values publicly and doing what we consider the right thing with honesty, fairness, respect and compassion.
Emotional Courage - feeling all your emotions without guilt or attachment.
Our society encourages us to be strong and tough while voicing feelings of anger, sadness, trauma or any other emotion associated with negativity is discouraged. Therefore, this message leads to many of us learning to suppress these feelings.
All emotions serve a purpose and we need to be allowed to feel them without shame or fear.
Dealing with these emotions can be difficult but if we follow our hearts and intuition it allows us self knowledge enabling the creation of the tools needed to build emotional courage.
Intellectual Courage - to learn, unlearn and relearn with an open and flexible mind.
When we are motivated to learn, grow and challenge previously accepted ideas we become critical thinkers who are less likely to accept passively accepted ideals. As the world and the ideas that are held change, embracing intellectual courage creates space allowing you to develop the ability to have rational, mature and open conversations helping to heal the divides we are currently grappling with.
Spiritual Courage - living with purpose and meaning through a heart centered approach towards all life and one's self.
Life is a journey and to be spiritually courageous we must remain present. Be willing to sit with our thoughts, feelings and beliefs. To become a witness to them and learn when needed how to self-correct. To live our lives open hearted with compassion and empathy towards ourselves and others.
And so my Sole Sisters, as you ramble out into your week, may you find courage, in whatever form, to guide you through life’s struggles.
What form of courage do you struggle with and how are you working your way through it?
Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is ‘cor’ — the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant "to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart."
Over time, this definition has changed, and today, we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds.
But in my opinion, this definition fails to recognize the inner strength and level of commitment required for us to actually speak honestly and openly about who we are and about our experiences — good and bad.
Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as ordinary courage. -Brene Brown
READ MORE > Jane's Mindful Musings, Rambler Cafe Blog
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