Being Brave

Bravery - not something we typically speak about when we consider the work we do, or more importantly, the work we are BORN to do. It takes bravery to follow your true path in life and be the full expression of who you are. It takes bravery to do that thing that lights you up inside and which (invariably) comes naturally to you. Bravery is saying yes to what’s deep in your Soul, your Soul calling if you like.

How do you want to ultimately live your life? A life where you always feel like a fish out of water or a square peg in a round hole? Or a life where you feel at one with who you are and what you do in this world?

Here are my thoughts on bravery and what it means to me. It might spark something within you and hopefully encourage you to take that next step towards creating and living a true and meaningful life.

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Bravery – this is about doing it your way and going against the grain of what every one else is thinking and doing. It’s like stepping out of the box, the constraints of our society, and saying f*!k it, I’m doing it my way, even though I risk the possibility of looking like a fool and a failure. Even though I risk isolating myself (and the world is isolated enough actually) because no one else believes in what I believe, or no one else yet ‘sees’ what I can see.

Bravery is about forging your own path, not focusing on what others are doing (regardless of how their lives seem) and always, always listening to your gut.. 

Often we stand out from the crowd by the simplist of the things – not by reinventing the wheel. You know that great business idea you wished you’d thought of because it was so obvious? You know that great pitch someone else won because they walked in there and just decided to be themselves and be totally honest?

A hugely successful business person I know who had an unfailing belief when he was a very small boy that he could be anyone (and any thing) he wanted when he grew up, told me that he’s not driven by a sense of PURPOSE, but by a sense of POSSIBILITY. He remains open at all times to possibility around him. Opportunities have come his way and yet when he didn’t think he could do it, or he didn’t have the experience to do it, he did it anyway. And that approach has opened many, amazing doors for him in his incredibly colourful career.

OPPORTUNITY is one of the elements of very successful (and what we deem, lucky), people. Being open to opportunity (much like possibility), is when you put yourself in new environments and explore things you love, and then take advantage of the opportunity when you NOTICE it. It’s about saying YES I’ll do it (even though you might be freaking out!). That’s bravery! 

Bravery is about getting back up when you’ve been knocked down and not being discouraged. It’s being absolutely tenacious when you know you have come across something fab and that it’s just a matter of time. Bravery is when you simply keep going because you just know (and have faith) that one day, one day, that thing you’ve been doing and working on is just going to open up and take you places. That’s bravery to keep going when in the face of it, it would be much easier to just give up. J K Rowling anyone?

Bravery is saying yes to things because you just never know where it’s going to lead. It’s turning up and smiling and making the most of every opportunity, rather than turning up feeling resentful and wishing you were someplace else.

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Bravery is really about letting go of fear and not letting it determine your outcome. It’s about focusing on what you want and always, always being true the person you are.