I see courageous acts every day, from all kinds of different people in a variety of situations. I am both grateful and inspired to be a witness to these personal acts of courage.

So this is not a newsletter to browbeat or criticize.

It is a newsletter to help you create more efficiency in your career and your life by performing specific acts in thought, word and deed.

Let me explain.

We've all heard people tell us, "Don't be afraid." "Fear paralyzes." "Face your fears."

Great advice, I guess, except, sometimes we are afraid, fear does paralyze us. And frankly facing our fears is often easier said than done.

 
We live our current reality. Our reality is a story we tell ourselves about our life and how it came to be. And that story always revolves around the past and the future.

'I am the way I am because of my past. I have the things I have because of past events. I believe what I believe and think the way I do because of past experiences.'

Similarly the future is created by the past.

'The money I will make, the people I will love, the places I'll visit, the things I will have are dependent on my perceptions and beliefs of my past.'

It is important to know that both past and future are states of mind, chosen by us to be real. And it is very important to realize that states of mind can be changed.

The present is the only place that actually exists and so the only place that change can take place. Change is action and we can only act - now.

We may have dreams about our business making a certain amount of money or providing a particular lifestyle for our family, but to bring those dreams into the present; to create a new reality, we have to choose to act on present obstacles - our fears.

Knowing that is all well and good, but the question remains; "How do we eliminate fears that are stopping us?"  False Expectations Appearing Real is only useful if we can figure out a way to really trust that they are FALSE.

Couract is the answer. A combination of Courage and Action, meaning, taking Courageous Action. (Yep. I made it up:-). 

Actions create emotions. For example, the act of smiling changes our body chemistry. That ends up creating an emotion in us of happiness. So doing any action that moves us along the road to something else creates a courageous, positive emotion. And as long as we actively move forward (any size step will work BTW), then we continue to create emotions that support similar action and continue to dispel fear. Couract.

But .... starting is still the opportunity for many of us.

If that is an issue, try this.  Ask and answer these few questions.

• What is the downside of changing your reality?
• What is the upside of staying where you are?
• What does directed action feel like to you?

If you're being honest and really exploring your answers, a few things will come from doing this exercise;

• You will face your fears
• You will decide whether or not to change direction 
• You will be happier and more content
• You will practice Couract 

Once you are honest with yourself, you can make a deliberate choice about your life and the person you are creating. You will see clearly what making a change will cost you and be able to do a cost benefit analysis.  

 

Whether you choose to change or stay where you are, you have faced your fears and made a choice about your life. That is an action. It is courageous. And that will feel good. In a word, you will be performing Couract; courageous action.

 

Go ahead. Step on down the road!