Be brave
Updated: Feb 22
Bravery - resolute and centred in one's choices and decisions
At the forefront of each and every post is bravery. It takes guts to be disciplined, to be honest, to set intentions, to be extraordinary, to be meticulous and to be resilient. It really does.
You have to really desire change and growth in order to even consider doing any of the above.
Fortune does favour the brave and if there's one thing I've learnt over the last six months, bravery goes hand in hand with faith. Faith is in fact the prerequisite to bravery.
So let's see how these two concepts are interlinked.
Doing something brave requires us to take a leap of faith because the results of that given action are unknown to us. A rational human being would not undertake a specific set of actions without knowing that the odds of success are in their favour. But, not all situations are black and white. You won't always know the odds, and some situations will be trickier than others.
That's where faith comes in.
If you have a given situation in front of you, I still recommend you think through your options, but, if you are leaning one way, and your gut tells you to proceed with a given choice, despite the unknown outcome, go ahead with the decision. Replace uncertainty and doubt with faith.
In fact, your faith should not be limited to a specific situation but should be your overarching outlook in how you conduct yourself. Be it faith in God, in the Universe, in the people around you and in yourself, faith should be the core pillar of your life. To me faith = belief, so we must nurture this belief, day in and day out.
Even if your ideal outcome does not happen, your faith should be unfaltering. Why? Because whichever outcome takes place, it is most likely the best one for you.
How many times have you heard from people around you that outcomes that they least expected and wanted, ended up being some of the best outcomes of their lives?
Furthermore, I fundamentally believe that faith breeds faith. Why?
Because partial faith won't ever cut it.
If you are spiritual, consider the following analysis.
(If you aren't interested in spirituality and would prefer to skip this part, please head to the end of this post. Thanks!)
The Universe to me is like an organism. It exists to support those who have genuine intentions, who are conscious, willing to make a change, gracious, humble, and on a journey to improve themselves in all areas of their life. When you have faith in this organism, and you are committed to being the best version of yourself, the organism will do everything in its power to 'repay' you by creating your given desires and by presenting them to you in a sequence of events that can often be unexpected and even unimaginable. If this organism senses an inconsistency in your faith, it is less likely to be empowered to actually make all your dreams and desires happen. Sometimes this organism will be unable to give you every single thing you ask for, and that's because it will create alternative realities which are just as good for you and oftentimes, even better. All you have to do is have faith.
Obviously, the analysis above is metaphorical but I've found that it helps me to articulate the interrelationship between, bravery, faith, belief and the Universe.
Linked to this, and inspired by James Altucher, is understanding that we must refrain from asking why.
What do I mean by this?
If things do not go according to plan in any given area of our lives, we automatically go into problem-solving mode. We want to understand why. Why didn't that happen? Why didn't my preferred outcome occur even though I had complete faith in it? Why this, why that?
There's no need.
We waste so much of our precious time and energy, and so much of our physical, emotional, spiritual and mental resources trying to answer a question which could have infinite answers, some of which are interlinked to infinite variables and infinite consequences. There really is no need.
Be brave enough to pursue the things you firmly believe in, nurture your faith, and whatever the outcome, be accepting of it. This does not mean that you should be uninterested or uninvested in the things you want and in the things you choose, but you have to understand that there are forces at play which go beyond the simplicity of man as a physical being.
Do not be fooled by man's arrogance.
You and I are actually composed of emptiness because a large part of each and every atom that makes up our physical bodies is empty. Never forget that.
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1. Commit to being brave in all areas of your life
2. Understand that faith=belief and that these two concepts should be core pillars in your life
3. Ask yourself whether you practice faith in your daily life
4. Focus on acceptance and refrain from asking why
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