Courage.

“Everything tells me that I am about to make a wrong decision, but making mistakes is just part of life. What does the world want of me? Does it want me to take no risks, to go back to where I came from because I didn’t have the courage to say “yes” to life?” – Paulo Coelho

 Life is scary. Every stage of life has some fear tied into it. There is no guarantee that our lives will turn out okay. We have no guarantee that we will wake up tomorrow. We have no guarantee that what we have worked for will be there.  We have no guarantee that our choices are right. Even if we are sure that’s what we want there is always a voice in our minds that whispers (and sometimes screams), “But what if it doesn’t work out?”

Ah, but what if it does? J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, once stated that,  “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

Both quotes hold a truth dear to my heart – risk is worth it. I am young and I have failed a lot. I’m sure I will fail more as I grow older. I am okay with that. I want to always say yes to life. I think that sometimes we consider courage to be something only the best of the best and the bravest of the bravest possess but Dr. Robert Anthony said, “Courage is simply the willingness to be afraid and act anyway.”

Courage is being willing to stand your ground and say that you won’t give up, go home or get comfortable. Courage is being willing to say yes to life and opportunities. Courage is being to accept that the only true possibility of failure in life is when you fail to live.

Since this has been the most quote filled post we have had (there are too many good quotes on the matter), why not finish it off with a quote by E.E. Cummings: “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”  No matter what people demand of you or how often people mock you, being you and not backing down from your decisions takes more courage than almost any other path you may take in life. Choose to take a risk, choose to live, choose to be afraid and act anyway, choose to be you. If you do, you will be courageous in every way.