Finding Your Courage

Sometimes we come to a point in our lives when we say, “enough is enough,” and we determine that it is time for a change. We may not know what that looks like, feels like, or sounds like, but we do know that our lives can be better than they are right now. The missing element, then, is courage: courage to imagine the new path, courage to take the first step, and courage to see where we would like to end up. If we are sincere in our desire for that change, we can muster the courage to stop making excuses and start to get on our feet.

The first step is the desire to make the change. We have to know what we’re changing for it to be effective. We have to identify what’s wrong, what the problem is, to see it clearly, to accept that we got ourselves into it, and to understand that we are the only ones who can get ourselves out of it. This is the biggest, and often the hardest, step. Even understanding and facing this problem requires courage.

The next step is to eliminate the power that the past has over us. Depending upon what we have done, where we have been and where we want to go, the change required may involve cutting ties to people who are a bad influence, eliminating substances that take away our dreams, changing jobs, residence, and basically everything that we thought we knew about the world. We may need the support of others who have walked the path of change before us to help us make good decisions and start our life anew. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength. This is how we build courage.

Setting goals is the next step. Make one or two big goals, then list the steps that you have to take to fulfill those goals. Write them down on some nice paper. Add drawings or magazine pictures to turn this paper into an attractive reminder that will help motivate you as you envision your way to where you want to be. Look at it every day, close your eyes and then recall the image in your mind’s eye. When you clearly see yourself doing, being, living the goal, you become motivated and that motivation in itself will be rewarding.

Work. Work hard. Don’t take “no” for an answer. You are remodeling yourself from the inside out. You can do it. Find your courage. Don’t fight with other people because your life isn’t different. Fight with yourself and prove to yourself, first of all that you are worth the change, and secondly, that you have the courage to make the change.
May you be richly blessed!