Thoughts And Observations About Courage

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.” Anais Nin - French-born/U.S. diarist, essayist, novelist.

“Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts.” John Wooden – U.S. NCAA basketball player, coach.

“Courage is the most important of all virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.” Maya Angelou – U.S. memoirist, poet, civil rights activist.

“Courage begets courage….Courage is rare. And yet human beings can be incredibly brave. Firefighters rush into burning buildings to save a family. Ukrainians defend their homeland with their lives. The Capitol Police were very heroic in defense of Congress on January 6. Such physical courage, although not commonplace, makes us take notice of our own courage and the courage of others, especially moral courage – that ability to stand up for what you believe to be right and decent, even in the face of losing your career, reputation, and social or political standing. (…) Knowing that courage is rare, we appreciate those who speak the truth with moral clarity. This is different from those who hide behind the noise and spectacle of fear, hate and grievance. Those with a Profile of Courage seek the truth and value character, democracy and decency. There are many among us…who had the courage to speak boldly. May they inspire us to have more courage to speak truth to power and action without fear and self - interest.” Joan H. Beech – U.S. resident in Itasca County, Minnesota, published August 18, 2022 in the Grand Rapids MN Herald Review.

"Sometimes standing against evil is more important than defeating it. The greatest heroes stand because it is right to do so, not because they believe they will walk away with their lives. Such selfless courage is a victory in itself." N.D. Wilson – U.S. writer.

“Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill – U.K. statesman, soldier, writer, served as U.K. Prime Minister.

“Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.” Charlie Chaplin – U.K. comic actor, filmmaker, composer.

“Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” Mary Tyler Moore – U.S. actress.

“Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee of success.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - German writer, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic.

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” Mary Anne Radmacher – U.S. writer, artist.

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” William Faulkner – U.S. writer.

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.” John A. Shedd – U.S. writer, professor.

“He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.” Jean-Luc Godard - French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, film critic.

“Competing at the highest level is not about winning. It's about preparation, courage, understanding and nurturing your people, and heart. Winning is the result.” Joe Torre – U.S. MLB baseball player, manager, executive.

“It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more ‘manhood' to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.” Alex Karras – U.S. NFL football player, professional wrestler, sportscaster, actor.

“It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.” Erma Bombeck – U.S. writer.

“There is no one more courageous than the person who speaks with the courage of his convictions." Susan Cain – U.S. writer.

“Have the courage to take your own thoughts seriously, for they will shape you.” Albert Einstein - German-born/U.S. theoretical physicist.

“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.” Jonas Salk – U.S. virologist, medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines.

“Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four Cs. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable. (…) All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Walt Disney – U.S. animator, film producer, entrepreneur.

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” Coco Chanel - French fashion designer, businesswoman.

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” Nora Ephron – U.S. journalist, writer, filmmaker.

“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” Jane Austen – U.K. writer.

“I know what I want, I have a goal, an opinion, I have a religion and love. Let me be myself and then I am satisfied. I know that I’m a woman, a woman with inward strength and plenty of courage.” Anne Frank - German-Dutch diarist.

“Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.” Bethany Hamilton – U.S. professional surfer, writer.

“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a solider needs. Peace has it victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.” Ralph Waldo Emerson – U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher.

“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” J.K. Rowling – U.K. author, philanthropist.

“Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.” Thucydides - Athenian historian, general.

“Have the courage to act instead of react.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. – U.S. physician, poet.

“Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose instead of the expectations and opinions of others. (…) Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.” Roy T. Bennett – U.S. writer.

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” Steve Jobs – U.S. entrepreneur, co-founder of Apple Computers.

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up.” Stephen Hawking – U.K. theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author.

“Everyone has talent. What’s rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads.” Erica Jong – U.S. novelist, satirist, poet.

“Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.” August Wilson – U.S. playwright.

“Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life.” Shannon L. Alder – U.S. writer.

“Only those who will risk going to far can possibly find out how far one can go.” T.S. Eliot – U.S. born/U.K. writer.

"Courage to me is doing something daring, no matter how afraid, insecure, intimidated, alone, unworthy, incapable, ridiculed or whatever other paralyzing emotion you might feel. Courage is taking action….no matter what. So you're afraid? Be afraid. Be scared silly to the point you're trembling and nauseous, but do it anyway!"?Richelle E. Goodrich – U.S. writer.

“Courage is knowing what not to fear.” Plato - Greek philosopher.

“Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to carry on with dignity in spite of it.” Scott Turow – U.S. writer, lawyer.

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Marie Curie – Polish born/French physicist, chemist.

“Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears.” Arthur Koestler - Hungarian-born author, journalist.

“With courage, you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity.” (…) Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) – U.S. writer.

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Nelson Mandela - South African anti-apartheid activist, was first president of South Africa.

“Having courage does not mean that we are unafraid. Having courage and showing courage means we face our fears.” Maya Angelou - U.S. memoirist, poet, civil rights activist.

"Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done—that's courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one who lets fear rule him is a coward." Piers Anthony – U.S. writer.

“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” Robert Louis Stevenson - Scottish writer.

“Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.”?Winston Churchill - U.K. statesman, soldier, writer, served as U.K. Prime Minister.

"We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear." Martin Luther King, Jr. – U.S. minister, activist.

“Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.” James Stephens – U.S. actor.

"And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going despite the fear.” Paulo Coelho - Brazilian lyricist, novelist.

“Bran thought about it. ‘Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?’ ‘That is the only time a man can be brave,’ his father told him.” From ‘A Game of Thrones, ?George R.R. Martin – U.S. novelist, screenwriter, television producer.

“Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.” Eleanor Roosevelt – U.S. American diplomat, activist, the longest-serving first lady of the U.S.

“Always do the things you fear the most. Courage is an acquired taste, like caviar.” Erica Jong - – U.S. novelist, satirist, poet.

“It takes courage…to endure the sharp pains of self-discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.” Marianne Williamson – U.S. author, spiritual leader, political activist.

“In all realms of life it takes courage to stretch your limits, express your power, and fulfill your potential.” Suze Orman – U.S. financial advisor, author, podcast host.

“The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.” Pema Ch?dr?n – U.S. nun, Tibetan Buddhist.

“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.” Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) – U.S. writer.

“It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.” J.R.R. Tolkien – U.K. writer, philologist, academic.

"True courage is not the brutal force of vulgar heroes, but the firm resolve of virtue and reason." Alfred North Whitehead – U.K. mathematician, philosopher.

“Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke.” Benjamin Disraeli – U.K. statesman, politician, served as U.K. Prime Minister.

“It does not take courage to kill. It takes courage to live.” Renee Ahdieh – U.S.-Korean writer.

“A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live”. Lao Tzu - ancient Chinese philosopher, writer.

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” From ‘To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee – U.S. writer.

“The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.” Jim Hightower – U.S. columnist, political activist, author, served as the commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture.

“Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.” Dan Rather – U.S. journalist, broadcaster.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Theodore Roosevelt – U.S. politician, statesman, conservationist, naturalist, historian, writer, served as the 26th U.S. president.

“The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter. (…) When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” Paulo Coelho - Brazilian lyricist, novelist.

“Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when the tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you’ve been through the tough times and you discover they aren’t so tough after all.”?Malcolm Gladwell – U.K. born/Canadian staff writer for The New Yorker.

“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”?Maya Angelou – U.S. memoirist, poet, civil rights activist.

“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.” Michelle Obama – U.S. attorney, author, served as first lady of the U.S.

“Courage is risking the known for the unknown, the familiar for the unfamiliar. (…) Courage is a love affair with the unknown.”?Osho – Indian religious leader.

“We need a backbone, not a wishbone.” Joyce Meyer – U.S. writer.

“Courage is grace under pressure.” Ernest Hemmingway – U.S. writer.

“There is no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bear witness that a man has the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.” Viktor Frankl - Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, writer, Holocaust survivor, founder of logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy that describes a search for a life's meaning as the central human motivational force.

“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” T.S. Eliot - U.S. born/U.K. writer.

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” C.S. Lewis – U.K. writer, Anglican lay theologian.

“Courage is the first of human qualities because it it the quality which guarantees the others. (…) You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” Aristotle – Greek philosopher.

“Either life entails courage, or it ceases to be life.” E.M. Forster – U.K. writer.