“In this age where
people are conditioned to look ‘perfect’, have the courage to be yourself; to
be real and not fake things about yourself just to fit into an image. Be
authentic, be sincere and the Almighty will open doors for you which you never
imagined before” – Mufti Ismail Menk
A Happy New Year
shout-out to all the teenagers in the ‘House’! We give glory to the Almighty
God for all that we have shared on Great Teens Plus so far and looking forward
to more super moments this year in Jesus name. Amen.
Generally, to be
courageous means to possess the mental and/or moral strength to wade through
difficult situations. Some descriptions refer to the term as ‘being brave’. It
thus seems like teenagers are the best positioned to be courageous. They are
young, curious, vibrant, and have no one depending on them for their livelihood.
So they can be creative, hopeful, explore their curiosity, look to changing the
world, solving problems, adding value to their environments, etc. This is the
age to live courageously and with a sense of meaning and purpose.
As a teenager,
you need to find new and creative ways to instill courage into your life. We
can start with the small things – taking tests and examinations; telling the
truth; looking out for the little guy; trying something new; saying you are
sorry (and, meaning it); putting in the required work; taking responsibility; showing
up; leaving; failing; getting back up; and trying again (From “A Few Words on Courage” by Chris Robey).
Courage isn’t something for
‘other people’. We too can manifest courage. It will help us grow and give. And
it is available to everyone. But we need to understand what courage really is
and then train ourselves to perform small, daily acts of bravery.
- Courage means
being afraid and acting anyway. If you tend to be fearful, you probably
assume that you’re not courageous. Yet, fear is a universally powerful
emotion, and terror feels really terrible. With courage, we can seize that
feeling of fear and act anyway as a form of nobility. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear -
not absence of fear.” ―
- Courage is a
habit, a muscle you can exercise. Most of us
aren’t born courageous, so we shouldn’t expect to magically acquire it
without practice. As Brene Brown writes in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection,
“Courage is…a habit, a virtue: You get it by courageous acts. It’s like
you learn to swim by swimming. You learn courage by couraging.” Get in the
habit of deciding what you think about things and speaking from that place
of conviction. Practice saying what you think about small, inconsequential
things: pleasantly, politely—but firmly.
- Take notice
every time you do something that you’re scared to do. When you do something your body is telling
you not to do, you’re already much braver than
you think. This is particularly true of shy people for whom daily life
requires them to smile in the face of fear. Muhammad
Ali said, “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish
nothing in life”. Success without risk is hardly possible. Nothing
worthwhile can be achieved from the comfort zone. Once we leave behind our
fears and accept that risk is necessary we get the chance to prove the
amazing things that we can do.
- Focus on the
people or cause you’re standing up for. It’s
easier to be courageous on behalf of others than it is for your own sake. If
you feel strongly about the danger in some activity going on around you,
you can spare a thought for an impending victim and resist the urge to
keep silent. Take for instance, cases of bullying, drug use, sexual
crimes, etc, happening in your school. You can report to a school
official, or write to the school authority. That would be a very courageous
act on your part. Better to speak up and save a life than be quiet out of
cowardice.
- Find courage in
numbers. It is much easier to act in the
company of even one other person who feels the way you do. The hardest
thing in the world is to dissent solo. But sometimes, you’ll have to go it
alone. William Penn said, “Right is right, even if everyone is against it,
and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it”.
- Learn to attend
to positive signals and to discount negative ones.
Many of us have the tendency to pay more attention to disapproval than to
positive reinforcement. Be aware of this, and gently steer your mind to
positive stimuli. Look out for those who dig out your positive vibes and
take note of the negative ones for assessment and ‘point taken’. Don’t
dwell on them otherwise; they will wear down your courage.
- Find role models of quietly courageous people. You need to reach out for the influence of role models for just about anything you hope to do or become. When you’re trying to stretch yourself beyond your apparent limits, there’s a part of you that wonders whether it can actually be done. A role model is a constant reminder that the answer is yes. Channel that person until it feels natural to channel your very own self. said, “Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it...”
In 2019, you will
face increased pressure to be what you are not; to defend what you don’t
believe in; and to copy the ‘joneses’. We must resist them with courage that is
in us, developed habitually, for a time like this. It will be tough. You will
lose friends; experience diminished status, popularity and fame; bear mockery,
taunts and jeers and even worse. It will be excruciatingly painful and scary.
But look at the plus side – you would be building your character; identifying a
cause and fighting for it; adding value to the lives of others; and being a
solutions provider. With courage, you become a winner by the power of the
Almighty God!
“Courage
doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the
day that says I'll try again tomorrow.” ―
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