August 29

Be Brave

Bravery is doing the right thing, even when it’s the uncomfortable thing. It’s needed now more than ever in the marketplace, in the political realm, and in our schools and neighborhoods.Mostbravery in the world is exhibited in small, everyday actions, not big efforts.

Bravery is a choice, not a trait. People who choose to do the right thing in the face of personal cost are choosing to sacrifice their life and comfort for a better future. Bravery is always empathetic. It’s about the other, not about yourself. Bravery is action in spite of fear. People who act bravely feel fear and insecurity as much as everyone else. It’s just that they choose cause over comfort. Bravery is willingness to fail in the pur- suit of what matters.

What creative bravery is not:

Bravery is not stupid risk. A brave person counts the cost and decides to act because the cost of inaction is simply too vast to bear. Bravery is not bravado. Many people (especially some politicians) love to put bluster ahead of action. However, brave people do not feel the need to posture. Instead, they allow their actions to speak for themselves. They are fine being misunderstood, and even unliked if that’s the cost of right action. Bravery is not for a select few. There are opportunities to be brave everywhere and every day. Bravery is not anonymous or remote action. Lobbing insults or politically correct attacks on someone from afar is not bravery. Stepping into their world, looking them in the eye, and learning to love what you don’t understand is.

Be brave today, friends.

QUESTION

Where do you need to choose to be brave today in your life or work?