Very often we hear the words courage and bravery used as synonyms, as though they have the same meaning. They do not have the same meaning. Among the definitions of the word bravery you will find the word courage, but among the definitions of courage bravery hardly appears at all. What you will find as you look into the word courage are such traits as “mental or moral strength, to with stand danger, fear or difficulty.
Why should I care about semantics?
We often chastise ourselves for not being brave. This gives us the opportunity to find ourselves lacking. Self-talk is far more powerful than anything another person can say to us, so if our self-talk is about our idea of not being brave, let’s at least understand what we are talking about.
You may not be brave, but you are courageous
Spirit, resolution, tenacity, moral strength, will in the face of danger are all words linked to courageous. Now, think about your day. You have the spirit to get to your job, the tenacity to do things you would rather not be doing. Your moral strength carries you though difficult decisions and your will is what keeps you relatively sane as you face traffic every day. Admittedly this is not storming an enemy bunker under fire, it is far more difficult. This is your life. This is your every day, not a thirty second film clip. No one is going to pin a decoration on your tunic for living life, What could be more courageous?
Awarding the title of courageous
I am at that time of life when many of my friends have heard the word “cancer” in reference to their bodies. Not only cancer, but diagnosis of impending blindness, degenerative things of all descriptions. Bravery will not help, but having courage– now courage is a tool you want to recognize in yourself at times such as these. The friends and families of those with these diagnosis, they too want to recognize their own courageousness.
Brevity compels me to end here, but I have more thoughts about courage and courageousness to share on Monday. Join me then, and in the meantime, get yourself a copy of my book Think, Believe, Receive to explore in the next few days. Begin by clicking on the cover below to begin.
