Deep breath, another deep breath.

Some nausea. Sweat.

And a need to go back to hiding.

This is what courage feels like.

Courage is not a pleasant experience.

It is not fun.

It sucks.

But it is the doorway to a better life.

I am actually not very courageous.

You see, people don’t know that I am the least courageous person.

So, how do I get to be courageous even though I am scared?

First, I don’t pretend to be stronger or more courageous than I am.

I know exactly how scared I am.

Knowing this actually helps me accept myself.

Second, I know that courage is painful.

But staying stuck is more painful than being courageous.

Plus, it has thousands of regrets included in the stuckness.

Courage has no regrets.

Courage is difficult but you will never regret being courageous. (Click to Tweet!)

The choice is between courage and stuckness.

Both difficult paths.

I always choose courage.

When we choose stuckness we also choose shame.

Less dreams. Less potential. Less love. Less hope. Less life. Less of everything.

When we choose courage we go through pain, discomfort, nausea, sweat, tears but then we get a chance at life again. We get to feel hope.

I cannot promise you that courage leads to a better life but I can promise you that courage leads to a free soul.

And that is worth all the deep breaths in the world.

You know, I wish I was someone who could write to you pretty letters of rainbows and unicorns.

I wish I could tell you that if you are courageous all your problems will go away.

But I can’t.

What I can tell you is that if you choose courage you get to be free.

If you choose courage you get to watch the sunset over a beautiful beach.

If you choose courage you get to smile at strangers. You get to help others.

You get to taste life again.

Once I got used to being courageous, the nausea lessened and the sweating went away.

A calm comes over you when you practice courage a lot.

For this weekend I want to ask you to choose courage over stuckness.

Even for a few seconds.

Take a deep breath. And let’s do this.

With life,

Christina

PS. And when it’s time to begin again our support community will be waiting for you.

 

 

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Christina

Christina

Christina Rasmussen is an author, speaker and social entrepreneur who believes that grief is an evolutionary experience required for launching a life of adventure and creative accomplishment.

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One Comment

  • Janice says:

    I so needed this today. Thank you. I am skiing – for the first time in 25 years- without my husband. Same mountains. Same runs and lifts and restaurants and timeshare and ski school for grandkids. ALL the same but not at all the same. I want to fly back home and crawl in bed. But I can’t. I will do this for the kids. I will try to enjoy the memories of how much he loved this place and this time. But I feel like I’m choking and so alone. But I will try to choose courage …because there really is no other choice

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