Courage in Discuise

Have you thought about how bravery looks and feels like?

How does bravery feel like when we carry the image that we're extremely shy?

Or when normal daily situations push you violently into a pit of anxiety, mirroring what once happened to you and predicting your doom around every corner.

How does being brave feel like with that baggage?

Would you call it bravery if it looks just perfectly normal activity from the outsider perspective?

Courage as a word provokes images of confidence, calm and steady.

When actually lived out, it can feel like many other very opposite internally chaotic scenarios.

When you and I seek our path it's often easy to withdraw from situations where real, raw courage is inevitably needed.

Yet, what's interesting about courage, is that it doesn't automatically give you credit.

And in practise, you can water down lived out courage with millions of explanations.

In reality, even during just the past week, you've been tremendously brave.

You've put yourself out there on hard days.

You've chosen to show up for others when you had hundred of reasons why not.

The thoughts that you think, are echoing in your mind creating this another reality, the non-brave you.

Reasons why it was easy for you to act like you did come flooding.

It's suddenly crystal clear that what happened had zero to do with you choosing to be brave and everything with sunny circumstances, in the end.

You shrink into a size of a pea in a pod and the hero of the story is out of the blue some random imaginary explanation.

Although, in the midst of it all, you've been secretly using the muscle of bravery and seen the outcome.

Behind the illusion, this is what real bravery feels like.

Embracing the messy.

Taking responsibility of the things you did wrong, that caused someone else pain, or just plainly more work.

Dealing with things that cause you pain and cleaning that emotional dirty laundry.

Feeling scared out of your being and choosing to show up anyway.

Doing the things failing forward, with poor results, while inside you went through a paralyzed-by-fear experience and came to the other side with a "DONE" stamp on your forehead.

To be honest, it's time for you to get honest with yourself.

Those messy results you're seeing in your life, what if they are real and raw bravery in their core?

What if, the only person between you and the realization of how brave you already are, is Y O U?

Isn't it time to be brave with giving yourself some serious credit?

The world around you doesn't need to give fanfairs or shower party glitter over you.

It is radically powerful enough, that you give yourself honest feedback.

And see the things as what they really are.

Speaking out, while carrying the image of being shy is utmost bravery.

No medals are given for that.

You need to stand up for yourself and show yourself some loving, compassionate and serious admiration.

Doing the daily things that fly your anxiety to the roof?

Give yourself an authentic applause.

Seriously.

Stop what you're doing and recognize for once, how actually awesome you are.

You were made for being brave.

It's part of the manuscript of life.

When you start counting fairly your everyday bravery in disguise, it soon becomes like counting the stars.

Every time you realize, that messy situation is undoubtedly paired with your everyday bravery, give yourself an imaginary sticker on your shoulder.

It may look like a parrot or not, yet the mental act carries a powerful message.

That someone sees you being brave.

And often times we are that most influential someone to ourselves, when we just start acting like our very best friend.

Sooner or later when you find your inner being been laminated with some bird stickers, in your gut you'll know, that you are actually unbelievably brave.

Love,

Pia