Want to Access more Courage?
The number one regret on the deathbed of the elderly is that they would have taken more risks in life. What does that say? That if they had more courage in the moment, life would have been totally different. Let’s show you three ways to access more courage so on your deathbed, you say, wholy cow, I was a courageous warrior!
It’s not easy to have courage. We have been boxed into a culture that gives us guidelines as to what is safe and appropriate, what we should or shouldn’t do, and most of us had family or schools around that told us that stretching too far could get us in trouble. I remember getting send to a prinicples office for making sounds of a woman in labour! Thank you to the nun that tried to silence me.
Anyway, here are three ways to access more courage, starting first with the body and then second we will explore the mind.
1) Posturing for Confidence: Standing tall or more upright in a moment is the posture of confidence. The more we do this, the greater the chance we hardwire more courage into our systems. Standing tall with arms slightly out and a little wider stance has been shown to secrete the hormones required to access more courage. (superwoman pose)- Hold this pose for 2-5 minutes and you will be hardwiring the circuitry for greater courage. Once you find this posture, begin to walk like you are courageous, flexible, and poised. This reinforces the brain and body to remember and access courage when needed.
2) Calm the overwhelmed mind: Often courage is lost when the mind is overwhelmed. You will have more courage when you break down big goals into smaller more doable chunks. If there are 50 ‘to-do’s’ in your mind and they are not organized, you will freeze in paralysis because the mind doesn’t know where to begin. When this happens, procrastination sets in, and it can come across like you are lacking courage or self-esteem. You may just be challenged in your mental organization. So all you need is little steps of knowing that next step and you begin to remember and access more courage to complete the big task. Here is a little more clarity on stopping the procrastination cycle.
3) Know you already possess courage: Although you may not demonstrate it on a regular basis, remembering the times when you did express courage (using what we call ‘episodal memory’) and a remembering of how you held your body, your face, and your focus will help you to access the hardwiring that is already there within you. You don’t lack a trait, you lack expression of the trait.
So the first step is to posture into courage and walk like a certain, poised, confident and courageous human. The second is the break the bigger goals down to smaller details so you can take consistent action without being overwhelmed by the fear of a big goal or endeavour. Third is to remember that you already have it within you, and you’ve done it thousands of times over.
All the best with moving forward,
Dr. Steve
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