Building Real Courage… This 1 Simple Truth About Fear Changes Everything

One incredibly valuable trait that all heroes, whether real or fictional, have in common, is courage. People from all backgrounds respect, admire, and praise courageous individuals who act in defiance of fear and anxiety for the benefit of themselves and others.  Is courage a quality that you are either born with or left lacking? Or, are there steps you can take to develop more courage? You need to know this one simple truth about fear that will help you to develop real courage.

It’s possible that someone in your life has encouraged you to be brave, but how can this encouragement lead to action? Courage is a type of mental strength which needs to be developed in the same way that physical strength is developed. First, a person needs to understand how to acquire that mental strength, second, those mental exercises must be practiced over a period of time in order to build courage. 

In this video I’ll share with you one simple truth about fear that can help you to develop greater courage. Courage is a big topic and one that we’ll be providing more videos on in the future. To make sure you are notified when they become available, be sure to subscribe to Tomorrow’s World Viewpoint and click the notification bell. As always, if you find this helpful, give us a like and leave a comment about a method you have learned to develop courage.

We have to start by explaining exactly what we mean by courage. Many great thinkers have written extensively on courage. It has been defined as the ability to act despite feelings of fear or anxiety. Eddie Rickenbacker (decorated United States’ pilot from WW1), once said, “Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you are scared.” 

Although possessed by both men and women, courage is also considered one of the foundations of genuine manliness. Often, acting courageously means taking a stand for what is right, regardless of the potential consequences. Simply put, courage is the choice to not let feelings dictate decisions. 

This quality is vital in your relationships, career success, and overall happiness. Without courage, your potential and experiences in life may be significantly diminished. This is why we want to share with you ways that can help develop this essential trait. 

There is a core characteristic of fear that you have to understand in order to overcome fear and act courageously.

 You need to know that: Fear Lies to You. 

Feelings Can lie to us. It’s said that the things we worry about the most rarely come to pass. The human mind tends to jump to the worst-case scenario very quickly, even though the reality is that those scenarios are highly unlikely. 

Let me share a real world example of this. Recently I encouraged some teenagers to attend a youth camp. Some were nervous about traveling a long distance to spend two weeks with large groups of teens they had never met before. However, upon returning home, they were glowing with enthusiasm and confidence. Even their parents remarked on how their behavior had positively changed. I saw this as an opportunity to highlight an important lesson. I gathered the teens, as we typically do, and began by explaining how feelings and emotions often trick our minds into making poor decisions. I used their positive experience at camp as an example. I asked the teens which of them had felt fearful about going  to camp, and a few raised their hands. I then asked if there was anything to be afraid of now that they had been to camp. Of course, they replied no. I explained this simple yet important lesson.

Popular culture is filled with slogans like “follow your heart” or “trust in yourself.” It sounds like good advice…but it is not always the best course. Feelings can deceive us, fear is a feeling and its greatest tactic is to deceive you into focusing on the worst possible outcome rather than the most likely outcome. If we let our emotions alone guide us, we may set ourselves up for failure in life. Now let me share a personal example. When I was younger, I slipped under the water in my uncle's swimming pool and, for a moment, felt like I was drowning. My dad quickly came to pull me out of the water, but the fear of that experience paralyzed me. I developed a fear of water and did not want to swim anymore; I just wanted to distance myself from what scared me. My feelings during that time were completely irrational. If I had followed my heart, that one experience could have robbed me of a lifetime of summer memories outdoors on the water. Instead of telling me to trust my feelings, my parents enrolled me in swimming lessons more frequently. They understood that the only way to overcome this fear was to confront it, and with an instructor nearby, there was no real danger. 

To this day, I clearly remember when my fear of swimming vanished. I had an instructor who would support me as I swam in the water. One day, he let go without my noticing and asked how I was doing. "Good," I replied, to which he responded that he was no longer helping me. At that moment, a wave of exhilarating confidence surged within me, and it still brings me a smile when I think about it.

Fear can lead us to irrational conclusions.. The idea that I would drown if I entered the water was utterly unfounded, and my parents understood that better than I did. They encouraged me to confront my fear. Had they allowed my fear of water to prevent me from swimming, I would have missed countless incredible memories.

While these examples might seem trivial or obvious, the fundamental truth  they illustrate can be applied to many situations we encounter in life.  If you are feeling afraid, remember this: your mind and heart might be lying to you. Recognize  this as a crucial first step towards exercising courage.

The next time you are struggling with fear, remember that your feelings can often deceive you.