Wabi Sabi Courage

I sense courage is in the air. Is it just me?

Maybe I am seeing the word “courage” everywhere because I am in constant need to replenish my supply. The Frequency Illusion (aka Frequency Bias) is hard at work--after noticing something for the first time, there is a tendency to notice it more often, leading someone to believe that it has a high frequency of occurrence.

Or maybe it is a “beginning of the year” thing. Just this week, I’ve read several missives about courage. My favorite: “Courage is a choice.”

It reminded me of similar sentiments about love. “Love is an action verb. It requires sweat equity. There is no such thing as passive love.”

Courage is also an action verb. Feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

I’ve spent so much time outside of my comfort zone in the last 6 months that the knot in the pit of my stomach has become my constant companion. Exposing my ideas for public scrutiny. Publishing a newsletter and hoping no one will unsubscribe. Pitching a podcast and risking rejection. Announcing a book project and setting a deadline. Letting go of a client that paid well but wasn’t the right fit. Starting a podcast and asking my mentors to be guests (more to come on that).

Gut. Clenching. Every. Single. Time.

For anyone reading this, our fear reaction to the idea of taking action is not because the action is life threatening, like going into battle or entering a burning building. The cortisone kicks in because we want the action to be perfect. To indisputably frame our expertise. To strike just the right note. To make a great first impression. For everyone to nod their heads and say “yes.”

But if any of those results was guaranteed, we would not need courage to act. Courage, by its nature, requires action in the face of unknowns. Where there are variables, there will be imperfections.

For the expert, for the creative, for the professional, courage means embracing our imperfections and doing it anyway. The pursuit of perfection will keep us small.

Wabi Sabi Courage is the key to creation, expression, connection, and growth.