{"id":21160,"date":"2022-08-06T13:37:49","date_gmt":"2022-08-06T03:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/margiewarrellold.flywheelsites.com\/?p=21160"},"modified":"2022-08-06T13:37:49","modified_gmt":"2022-08-06T03:37:49","slug":"take-courage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/margiewarrell.com\/take-courage\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Courage! Beware the hidden tax on timidity."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cAll right, I’ll go in there for Dorothy,” announced the Cowardly Lion.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I’ll tear ’em apart. I may not come out alive, but I’m going in.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s just one thing I want you fellows to do.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk me out of it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"No<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This scene from the Wizard of Oz (my favorite childhood movie along with the Sound of Music!) is iconic for a reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It speaks to the fear we all feel in the moments we want to be brave and \u2018go in\u2019 \u2013 to step up, speak up, and pursue what lights us up \u2013 but we’re scared of what might happen if we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We might fail and fall short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We might fall prey to our detractors or risk being exposed as insufficient for the task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We might suffer the sting of rejection or just as scary for some, we might actually succeed! And then what? More pressure, more to lose… further to fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last few years have left millions feeling frayed and afraid. Yet, as I wrote in Stop Playing Safe:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s when fear runs high that the need for courage runs higher.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So if you have an inkling right now that you need to take a chance or make a change, here are four ways to summon your courage and rise above the voice of that metaphorical \u201cCowardly lion\u201d that lives within each of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.     Ground Yourself in Self-Certainty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>\u201cI always wanted to be somebody,\u201d said Lily Tomlin, “I should have been more specific.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world of constant change and uncertainty, being certain about the unchanging values you will operate from makes all the difference. As researchers at Stanford University found, people who operate with attitude-certainty<\/a> remain more confident under pressure and less susceptible to self-doubt. Committing to the values you want to embody… integrity, contribution, empathy, service, community\u2026 acts like a compass when life’s pressure mount, compelling you to exit your comfort zone when your fear urges otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, unless you put a stake in the ground and commit to the kind of person and leader you want to be, the path of least resistance will likely win out, keeping you from stepping up to the plate in the moments that matter most. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who do you want to \u2018be\u2019 \u2013 in your work, leadership and life?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.     Consult your ‘Future Self’<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our brains are exquisitely wired to attend to immediate threats to our sense of safety. As N Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahnahm discovered, our brains are twice<\/em> as sensitive to potential (near-term) losses as they are to potential (often longer-term) gains. The last two years have only magnified our sensitivity to risks, undermining our ability to discern the smart risks worth taking from the foolish ones that aren’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Consult<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So if you’re on the fence and unsure whether to ‘take the chance’ justifications for playing it safe will always<\/em> be easier to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pressing ‘Google Earth’ on your life and stepping into the shoes of your \u2018future self\u2019 \u2013 one, five, or 50 years from now \u2013 enlarges your perspective, reframing your perceptions of risk through a broader lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The costs of playing it safe are never immediate, obvious, or dramatic. Yet timidity can exact a steep hidden tax. And often more than we’d like to acknowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the path of courage doesn’t always land the date, win the sale, or earn the Gold. Yet over the long arch of life, people regret far more the risks they were too timid to take than those they did. To quote Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your psychological immune system can justify an excess of courage over an excess of cowardice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Because even when things don\u2019t land just as you want, you still learn and you still grow and you build ‘muscles for life’.  As I shared in my TEDx talk<\/a> :<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greatest reward you get from acting with courage is not accomplishing a goal, but who<\/em> you become.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does your ‘future-self’ want you to do right now? As someone who tends to move fast, I can highly recommend giving yourself a little ‘time out’ to sit still long enough to hear the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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