Being Brave

Being brave is knowing what you want and having the courage to go for it.

Being brave is admitting when things aren’t working out.

Being brave is putting a stop to a toxic relationship. 

Being brave is standing up for yourself. 

Being brave is jumping into the unknown and trusting it.

Being brave is empowering.

There are many different ways to being brave, and what is challenging for one person is a doddle for another. 

We can be brave in little and big ways: making a phone call we’ve been putting off, admitting our true feelings to ourselves or someone else, or moving to a new country to start a new life. The more often we are brave in little ways, the more we start to realise we can be brave in bigger ways.

Some days I can do two or more brave things, other days I cannot face it at all. Occasionally, I have to build up to being brave. When I’ve finally taken action, I need time to digest the step I’ve taken. It’s almost like a breathing space to get used to this ‘new’ level I’ve got to. Then once I am comfortable, I can be brave again. In time, I notice I have expanded my comfort zone and sometimes I surprise myself at what I am capable of. We don’t always give ourselves enough credit for what we can do!

I also notice my body needs to rest and recover after each brave moment, because in the lead up to it my heart was pounding, my palms were sweaty and adrenaline was rushing through my system (the stress or fight/flight response is turned on). On a physiological level it is important to allow your body to discharge that energy in order to regain balance in your system. For more on this, I highly recommend reading Why zebra’s don’t get ulcers by Robert M. Sapolsky who explains why it’s essential and necessary to our health to recover after activating our stress response. 

What helps me when faced with being brave is to take a moment for myself. If I have a challenging phone call to make, for example, I will mentally rehearse what I will say, and write it down on a piece of paper to refer to during the call. I’ve been known to write a whole script before making phone calls – whatever helps you to take that step to be brave, do it. Before I start dialling I take a few deep breaths in and out of my nose. Afterwards, I ensure I do something to let my body and my mind calm down, often it’s simply breathing in and out of my nose, and relaxing the tension in my body.

What does being brave look like for you? What can you be brave about today, tomorrow, or next week?