Anyone can scare someone else, but it often takes a lot more effort to give them courage. Leaders everywhere need to take the lead in changing this mindset. The best leaders throughout time have given people hope for a better future. They pushed individuals, communities, organizations, and countries to elevate their perception of what’s possible. Instead of scaring people into action and using fear for manipulation, they encouraged others to find their strength and resourcefulness to meet any challenge and seize opportunities. To quote Winston Churchill, “Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees all others.”
In my line of work, it is not a stretch to say that many of the issues I help people deal with have an underlying fear attached to them: fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of being wrong, fear of being emotionally uncomfortable, etc. Most of us dislike feeling vulnerable or unprepared to handle life’s inevitable challenges and disappointments. Therefore, we opt to take precautions and manage or reduce our risks. Paradoxically, as time goes on, we resent the fact that we haven’t taken more risks or shown more courage. We see an ever-widening gap between the person we would like to be and the individual we are becoming (largely due to our own making).
While some fears are legitimate, they are typically the exception rather than the norm. The worst-case scenario rarely happens. There are very few life-and-death scenarios for the average person in modern society today (sadly, excluding certain parts of the world these days). Confronting and overcoming a fear can lead to exhilaration and a deeper sense of life’s meaning. That may be why some people take things too far and live their lives perpetually on the edge, which is also not advisable. Part of your job as a leader is to offer an enlightened perspective and push the envelope of what others deem possible – just don’t push them off a cliff. There is a difference between living your life intentionally and living it recklessly.
I’ve always liked the way Joseph Campbell sums it up when he says we are on a “hero’s journey,” and the lesson is to learn to become the protagonist in your own life. You cannot control all the variables, but you can control how you respond to adversity when it happens. We are all defined by how we respond to the significant events in our lives, not the events themselves. We form our character when we stay true to our authentic selves, regardless of the circumstances. Our job is to continue our journey, learning from these lessons and solidifying our character. Courage is not optional. It is a requirement if you want to grow as a human being. As with everything, the leader must model the behavior he/she wants to see in others.
Related articles:
- H is for Heroes and the Hero’s Journey (lisavoisin.wordpress.com)
- Do one thing every day that scares you! (doulaservicesnw.wordpress.com)
- Manage Your Fear (capacity-building.com)
- The hero’s journey (nhatkysankhau.wordpress.com)
- “Courage is not the absence of fear …” (thetosinteatime.com)
- An antithesis of Fear (activeminority.com)
- Fear. (ejaycreate.wordpress.com)
- Four Fatal Fears of Leaders (danutm.wordpress.com)