Mostly Brave

“The thing about being brave is it doesn’t come with the absence of fear and hurt. Bravery is the ability to look fear and hurt in the face and say move aside, you are in my way.”

–Melissa Tumino

There have been times in my life where I have been both a coward and brave. I have thought of myself as more of a survivor in the school of hard knocks; the school that we all attend at some point in our lives.  

I don’t love this about myself but I can for sure be a coward when I am faced with confrontation. I am an empath and I am a peace maker. I am far more like this in my personal life than I am in my business life.  In my business, I go into every contract knowing that I am not going to be liked. So, what is the difference between my business life and my personal life when it comes to confrontation? Fear of loss.

There are big events in our lives where we are called to be brave. Getting through a death of a loved one, battling a tough disease, going into a room where HR is waiting to talk to you, or on the flip side, going into a room to sell a group of people on why you would be the best fit for their job. Every one of these scenarios have been played out in my own life.

We can also be brave in the smaller things that happen on a day-to-day basis, like finding a way to forgive someone that has hurt us, loving ourselves and actively working on giving ourselves a break, apologizing for something that is tough to admit, working on our health when we feel like kicking back on the couch and eating snacks, or just stepping out in faith when God asks us to do something that day.

In Joshua 1:9 it says “This is my command-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go.” I mean, for me, writing this blog is brave. I have thought of so many reasons why this blog is a bad idea and all of these reasons are attached to fear that grips me. Fear of what I might say is irrelevant or even fear that you won’t like me.

So, I am at a crossroad.  Do I choose the path where fear beats me or do I choose the path that moves me further to bravery? The path I choose is the path that I know I am supposed to be on. This is where I believe God wants me to be. So, I am telling fear to step aside, get behind me, take a back seat, and I will remind myself daily; Breathe Lisa, Breathe.