I’ve been thinking a lot about courage recently. Not the battlefield, flagging waving variety but the quiet, unnoticed version that slowly changes your world.
My best friend recently challenged a parking fine. The act of saying “no, this is not fair” lead to hours of research, a lot of stress, a day in court, public speaking and victory as the case against her was dismissed. It is fair to say that none of this is within her comfort zone but she did it. I’m so proud of her as the easy thing to do would be to pay up and shut up but she didn’t.
All too often we take the easy route. We don’t want to upset anyone, rocking the boat is not done. If we can’t do it on a personal level, we can’t do it for anyone else. And right now the world needs courageous people who speak out.
It starts small. Speaking up for your preferences. If you really hate that bar or restaurant, don’t go. Sometimes saying no to stuff is difficult but if you don’t want to, do not go on that hen do.
It’s in dressing how you want. I gave up heels four years ago. I’ve been apologetic about it for ages. Some outfits need heels (they don’t). Heels mean you are taken seriously in the office (if someone does not take you seriously because of your shoes they are an idiot and be thankful they are underestimating you, it makes the glory sweeter). These are just excuses for being someone else.
It’s about finding out who you are and being that person with everything you’ve got. That’s hard enough. Then you have to accept that everyone else has the right to be themselves too. Once, you’ve cracked that you have to celebrate who you are, who they are and the glorious differences we share. Next, you have to speak up for your right to be yourself and their right to be themselves.
Scary isn’t it? Being yourself, accepting others, celebrating that and speaking out? Terrifying. Good thing we all have courage.
photo credit: Dalton Touchberry