Do It Anyway

What if it doesn’t work? What if I fail? What will they say ?
 
To me, courage is one of the most important values. It is hard to follow through on the other values if you don’t have courage. Can you be honest in difficult times without courage? Can you be patient, when time doesn’t seem on your side, without courage? Can you show unconditional love without courage? 
 
In this week’s podcast, which will be live tomorrow, I was reminded by Nicole Lynch of the root of the meaning of the word courage. Courage comes from “cor” which is the Latin word for “heart.” In it’s earliest form, “courage” meant “to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.”
 
Over time the definition of the word courage has more typically been associated with strength and bravery and almost heroic deeds. But when we get back to the root, we are reminded of the everyday courage that is needed when we are willing to be honest and open about who we are, to allow ourselves to be seen and to be willing to follow our “heart.”
 
What does it mean to allow your true self to be seen? We are so often told that YOU should be YOU but then bombarded with imagines about how to YOU should show up…from head to toe.
 
Having courage involves you being willing to do the root work and understand who YOU are. When we can be authentic, be ourselves and show up as ourselves, that is when we get to true, deep and meaningful connection.
 
That kind of vulnerability isn’t easy though. It sometimes makes us feel weak, feel nervous, feel anxious and just… overwhelmed. To be who we authentically are is courageous. It means being willing to feel uncertainty and do it anyway. It means knowing you may be judged and doing it anyway. It means being willing to fail, and doing it anyway. It means…to do it anyway.
 
In this period there are so many reasons to step back from our dreams. There are so many reasons to shelve our passions. There are so many reasons to give up on what we believe because there are just too many obstacles.
 
My message to you is to “do it anyways”. Sure it may need some adjustments in this period, but draw on your courage to decide what those adjustments are and how you can still “do it anyway”.
 
Because when I really step back in life, my most precious gifts, my most successful projects, my most rewarding experiences, the pursuits that have set my soul on fire …they have all been “do it anyway” experiences. They were times that caused me to step up, be willing to sit in some discomfort and “ do it anyways.”
 
So my friends, my wish for you is that you dig deep, even when it is uncomfortable and have the courage to  “do it anyway.” And know that when you “do it anyway,” you aren’t only doing it for yourself. You are fueling the courage of others to do their very own “do it anyway.”
 
Be well my friends ❤️

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