What Is Courage?

What Is Courage(ˈkərij)?

By Steve Pavlina

…

Courage is not the absence(ˈabsəns) of fear(fi(ə)r), but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.
– Ambrose(ˈamˌbrōz, -ˌbrōs) Redmoon

Courage is resistance(rəˈzistəns) to fear, mastery(ˈmast(ə)rē) of fear – not absence of fear.
– Mark Twain(twān)

Courage is being scared(ske(ə)rd) to death, but saddling(ˈsadl) up anyway.
– John(jän) Wayne(wān)

I like the definitions(ˌdefəˈniSHən) of courage above, which all suggest that courage is the ability to get yourself to take action in spite(spīt) of fear. The word courage derives(dəˈrīv) from the Latin(ˈlatn) cor(kôr), which means “heart(härt).” But true courage is more a matter of intellect(ˈin(t)lˌekt) than of feeling(ˈfēliNG). It requires using the uniquely(yo͞oˈnēklē) human part of your brain(brān) (the neocortex(ˌnēōˈkôrteks)) to wrest(rest) control(kənˈtrōl) away from the emotional(əˈmōSH(ə)n(ə)l) limbic(ˈlimˌbākə) brain you share in common with other mammals(ˈmaməl). Your limbic brain signals(ˈsignəl) danger, but your neocortex reasons that the danger isn’t real, so you simply feel the fear and take action anyway. The more you learn to act in spite of fear, the more human you become. The more you follow the fear, the more you live like a lower mammal. So the question, “Are you a man or a mouse(mous)?” is consistent(kənˈsistənt) with human neurology(n(y)o͝oˈräləjē).

Courageous(kəˈrājəs) people are still afraid(əˈfrād), but they don’t let the fear paralyze(ˈparəˌlīz) them. People who lack(lak) courage will give into fear more often than not, which actually has the long-term effect of strengthening(ˈstreNG(k)THən,ˈstren-) the fear. When you avoid facing a fear and then feel relieved(rəˈlēvd) that you escaped(əˈskāp) it, this acts as a psychological(ˌsīkəˈläjəkəl) reward that reinforces(ˌrē-inˈfôrs) the mouse-like avoidance(əˈvoidəns) behavior, making you even more likely to avoid facing the fear in the future. So the more you avoid asking someone out on a date, the more paralyzed you’ll feel about taking such actions in the future. You are literally(ˈlidərəlē, ˈlitrəlē) conditioning(kənˈdiSHən) yourself to become more timid(ˈtimid) and mouse-like.

…
https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2004/10/the-courage-to-live-consciously/