Ampersand Answers: Contagious Courage

Courage is contagious.

From Joyce White Vance’s Substack, Civil Discourse 

The Question: 

How can I build my own courage? 

&mpersand Answers: 

Most of the time most of us confuse courage with bravery when they’re two completely different things. 

Bravery comes from Latin roots meaning boldness.
Courage comes from Latin roots meaning heart. 

Bravery shows up as an outside job, if you will. We see others being brave through their actions, their words, their convictions. 

Courage, on the other hand, is an inside job. We can’t always know when someone is being courageous because we can’t see its genesis. 

To build your own courage, begin to challenge the fears that require you to have courage.  

I don’t like to drive at night. Especially on roads that I don’t know. It scares me. So what did I do? 

I did NOT decide to drive across country by myself. No, I took a friend out for ice cream one evening. Less than a mile from my house. 

Courage is built in small, incremental steps that, added together, make for a solid foundation of belief in yourself. That belief resides in your heart. 

And if you, for whatever reason, on whatever day, can’t face that particular fear, remind yourself of other times you’ve built courage. Rest on your courageous laurels, and try, try again. 

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