By Andrew Smith
“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”
The word courage is often associated with heroes. Knights in shining armor, men strong enough to break down walls, or daring first responders are just a few of the many examples that would come to my mind when I was young. To me though, no one was braver than a cowboy. I often dreamed of saddling up and racing through open plains, running down stampedes, and chasing outlaws. When I got into my teenage years, I had the opportunity to work as a cowboy where I saw firsthand how terrifying a stampede can be.
There was one day I distinctly remember when I was with a group of cowboys, and we were moving a herd of cows. We were near a gap in the fence line where we could let the cows into a new pasture with fresh grass and water. Gradually the cows at the front of the herd began to grow restless. Their agitation built until a few began to run, stirring the others into a stampede. I was the only cowboy close enough to the front of the herd to stop the cows before things got out of hand. In that moment I was terrified. I knew that if I was going to do my job and get these cows to safe, green pastures, I would have to stop the stampede. However, to stop the stampede I would have to ride in front of the herd and pray they didn’t trample me to death. Somehow, despite the danger, I found it within myself spurring my horse into action. I cut off the herd and avoided a major stampede unscathed.
Looking back, I didn’t feel very courageous. I had been so scared to act. My experience helped me understand what the true nature of courage is. A scholar from the University of Pennsylvania summarized courage by writing “If a person is fearless, the behavioral component of fear is not at issue, for there is no reason to avoid or escape something that elicits no subjective or physical sensation of fear. It seems unwarranted, therefore, to suggest that the fearless person is courageous. Such an assertion would make a virtue out of having an unresponsive autonomic nervous system in circumstances fearful to others.” (Dean, n.d.) In my mind, I had mistaken courage for fearlessness. Yes, I was afraid, but I had been courageous. Not being scared is the result of apathy or an unresponsive nervous system, neither of which makes life more enjoyable, or safer. Courage on the other hand makes life safer and more enjoyable and allows for a person to exhibit more values and virtues in their life. Courage is to a mind facing anxiety and fear, the same as grit and perseverance are to a physical body facing pain and fatigue. They provide the ability to continue moving forward without losing strength or intensity.
Beyond the obvious strength that courage provides a person to do things, like skydive or run in front of charging cattle, comes the ability to express values in a more significant and satisfying way. John Wayne showcased this principle when he said “That’s what’s important – To feel useful in this old world. To hit a lick against what’s wrong, or to say a word for what’s right, even though you get walloped for saying that word. Now, I may sound like a Bible beater yelling up a revival meeting at a river crossing camp meeting, but that don’t change the truth none. There’s right and there’s wrong. You got to do one or the other. You do the one and you’re living. You do the other and you may be walking around, but you’re dead as a beaver hat.” John Wayne understood that the courage to choose right even when faced with painful consequences will lead a person to a more fulfilling life. Choosing not to do what is right because of fear will be living, but in a way that is like being dead. What sort of good is any sort of value or virtue without the courage to act on it? A virtue has no value if it never finds a way to be manifested into reality. In the words of C.S. Lewis “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.” Every virtue must be combined with sufficient courage or else it isn’t really a virtue; it is simply a comforting ideal. A man cannot have the virtue of honesty if every time he is faced with a potentially painful consequence for telling the truth he lies. (Lewis, 1942)
Perhaps the most interesting thing about courage is its inherent relationship with conflict. A person either has the courage to face some form of physical, mental, moral, or other conflict around them, or they will have to face an inner conflict as they realize they are living in a way that is incongruent with their values. “So how do you approach conflict with courage in a way that is likely to help you and others get positive outcomes? The basic answer to that question is that rather than defaulting to whatever tendencies we have developed for dealing with conflict (such as avoiding conflict, adding fuel to the fire when dealing with conflict, dysregulating when encountering conflict, etc.), we have to take responsibility for being more skillful in how we approach and navigate conflict.” (Rumore, n.d.)
Developing courage is the path to a value-congruent life, it is the solution to facing conflict, and it is the solution to so many other forms of anxiety and discouragement that plague the world. As simple as we wish it could be, developing courage is much more complicated than just choosing to brave things. There is no virtue I have ever heard of that can be developed solely through a person deciding they’d like to have that virtue. There is no one practice or motivational speech that will take a person and make them perfectly courageous, but there are simple practices that can be applied to help build courage. This list includes but is not limited to:
Finding small insecurities to be courageous about.
Making decisions before you have to face scary situations.
Visualizing being courageous and seeing the positive outcomes.
An easy first step to becoming courageous is finding the small insecurities we have and being willing to face them in small but meaningful ways. For instance, if I have a fear of talking with other people face to face the first step could be to complement a fast food worker after ordering a meal. I could think of a compliment ahead of time, so I don’t even have to think on the spot. This is a very simple interaction with a person face to face that could help me build towards bigger more courageous interactions later.
The second practice deals with preparing in advance to be courageous. In high school, I had a lot of friends who enjoyed drinking, smoking, and looking at pornography. I knew some of them probably hadn’t intended to develop these habits, but because other friends were developing them, they didn’t dare to stand alone. I was able to avoid this fate because years earlier my dad had asked me what I would do in that exact situation and I was able to choose that I would be courageous before the pressure was on. I made my choice in advance.
My final practice suggestion is visualizing courage and positive outcomes. This practice is meant to help being courageous feel more natural. Visualization like meditation typically begins with sitting calmly and tuning out the surrounding world. When visualizing you take your mind to a situation and let it play out at the pace it would happen in real life. For example, if I was scared to jump off a high dive at a swimming pool. I would visualize walking up the stairs of the high dive and looking off. I would imagine every aspect of my jump and fall toward the water, and then I would imagine everything going just right as I splashed then swam to the pool's edge. This would help prepare my mind for the real high dive later.
The word courage can have different meanings in different contexts. It can describe mythical warriors as well as kindergarteners making new friends. Courage helps us act and grow towards the kind of person we want to be. Courage helps us live life in alignment with our values and ultimately it allows us to be more content with our lives and the choices we make.
“Overcoming difficulties leads to courage, self respect, and knowing yourself”
References
Lewis, C. S. (1942). The Screwtape Letters (1st ed.). Geoffrey Bles.
Dean, B. (n.d.). Defining Courage. Authentichappiness.sas.Upenn.edu. https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/newsletters/authentichappinesscoaching/courage
Wayne, J. (Director). (1960). The Alamo [Film]. Batjac Productions.
Rumore, D. (n.d.). Courage: An overarching skill for making conflict productive. Law.Utah.edu. Retrieved October 1, 2023, from https://www.law.utah.edu/news-articles/courage-an-overarching-skill-for-making-conflict-productive/