Courage

To get courage, we need opportunities to be courageous.

For the first twenty years of my life with these new hands, just showing up took courage. Living without fingers teaches you so many things about yourself, but the lesson that shows up every single day still…is humility. I don’t think there are many injuries out there that can be as frustrating and humiliating as not having fingers. You get really good at looking like a fool at times – Struggling to get my credit card out of an ATM machine. Tying my shoes in the middle of an airport with hundreds of people watching. Or my favorite from a few weeks ago, getting locked inside a mens bathroom at Chevron on way to a speaking engagement (I couldn’t unlock the door from the inside!?). These are daily moments that make me laugh and teach me a different kind of gratitude, but they still come with the heavy tears at night when nobody is looking.

Small moments to the outside world, but defining moments to the person living them.

But… there’s something magical about the relationship between humility and courage. Humility strips away ego. It exposes you. And once you’ve been exposed enough times, something shifts — you stop trying to protect your pride and start choosing to participate in life. For me, every day requires courage. I never get a day off from being uncomfortable, I can only improve my mindset and attidue towards it. Today, I embrace it.

And that’s the truth about courage — it’s relative, which makes it so universal. For one person it’s asking someone out. For another, it’s sharing one’s story in front of a group of middle schoolers. And for someone else, it’s facing every morning in a wheel chair. The scale changes but the requirement doesn’t. Courage is a law of living. If you want to fully participate in your life, courage will be required.

The good news? Courage compounds. The small, daily acts — showing up, asking for help, speaking up, trying again — it all grows into something bigger. We don’t have to be fearless, we just have to be willing to show up.  Always.

How can you show up this week, every morning? How can you be more courageous?