Complacency to Courage

The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. - C.S. Lewis

Yes, I realize that quote might feel dramatic and let’s keep going.

What would you regret about how you are living if you had fewer years than you’re counting on?

This isn’t some YOLO, live everyday like it is your last article.

Deferred gratification and contentment have their place, and we can also unconsciously settle into rhythms with our self-imposed upper limit beliefs.

Let me know if this sounds familiar:

I have a lot to be grateful for.

I’m lucky to have a good job.

I’m just happy I didn’t get laid off.

My marriage is fine.

My kids are doing well.

My health is not perfect but whose is?

What do I have to complain about?

The trap of more is better can be a recipe for restlessness and misery.

More is not always better, and sometimes good is good enough.

Are we choosing good enough consciously in the areas of our lives that really matter?

I want so badly for my children to be brave.? I have succeeded, failed and everything in between to convince them that courage is not about not being scared.

Brave people are scared too, but sometimes, they do the thing anyway.

There are seasons where we are just trying to get through, and in my home life, that’s exactly where we are at. My wife is exponentially busier than she has ever been so I’m trying to hold down the fort.? Lots of laundry, cooking, pickup’s, drop-off’s.? Yet still, I am committed to sharing my feelings earlier and more often, and I am focused on showing more grace and patience to my family.

Even in this season, we can inch forward because it matters.

Thank you Elizabeth Alexander for recommending Brave Not Perfect !

Reshma Saujani writes: “If you think about it, pretty much everything worth doing in life requires bravery.? Bravery is why we try that twentieth cartwheel that we triumphantly nail after failing nineteen times.? It's what sends us off to college or far from home where we don't know anyone, what encourages us to follow a passion into our first job.? Bravery enables us to start a business, change careers, or ask for the salary we deserve.? It allows us to be vulnerable enough to ask for help and helps us muster the strength to forgive someone who hurt us.? It inspires us to be generous and support other women without fearing that it diminishes us.? As Winston Churchill once said, Courage is the first of human virtues because it makes all others possible."?

Embracing the power of yet can shift us out of a fixed, complacent mindset. It can often be the first, accessible step to unstick us.? If real growth is what we are after, it will require courage, accountability and support .

Writing, learning, and meditation provide some of the scaffolding I need.? Although I am as disciplined as anyone I know, to truly be brave, I need someone to hold up a mirror, push me and replenish me.

You might be thinking.? OK, I get it, but…

There is wisdom in considering pro’s and con’s, taking time and seeking out information.? After all of that, we are often prevented by fear, plain and simple, from stepping into our greatness.

We are scared.? What if…

Rha Goddess says “Is that your drama or your wisdom talking?”?

We stay comfortable while some true, wise part of us is sidelined.? Great coaches raise awareness to who we are listening to, and I am asking you to consider where that “What if…” is coming from.

Does that voice deserve a megaphone or a muzzle?

We rarely regret the chances we take on ourselves and those we love.

Courage may be not taking myself so seriously at least once a day.

Courage may be reaching for my wife’s hand when we’re in an ugly fight.

Courage may be telling my son that I screwed up and will try to do better.

How will you move from complacency into courage?