Will You Be Courageous In 2009?

It's a new year and our country has a new President. Saying that "change is coming" seems like quite the understatement because it's already here. I don't know if you feel it, but I've been very aware of how things are shifting around us. People are starting to wake up, step up, and speak up. We are starting to come together and think in a different way. 2009 is going to be a pivotal year and the way I see it is that we are at a crossroads. There is one road that you can head down that is decorated with fear and constraint if you choose to fill your mind with thoughts about how bad our economy is. And there is another road that is decorated with opportunity for discovery if you choose to embrace all the changes that are going on around and inside of you.

Lately I've been on a "courage kick." My clients may say I'm a little obsessed with courage since it seems to come up in 99% of our sessions. I'm called to share about courage, learn about it and embrace it in my own life so that I can teach it from a place of experience rather than as a concept. I've been reminding myself and others that courage is not the absence of fear; it is acknowledging that fear is present, feeling it and moving forward anyway.

So I ask you, are you being courageous or are you letting fear stop you? If you are waiting to not be afraid of something before you take action, you're at a dead end. Fear does not necessarily go away until we go through it. And until we face our greatest fears, they will always be lurking there like monsters in our closets, keeping us living a life that is safe and quite frankly, complacent. Do you want to be complacent or do you want to be courageous? Do you want to boldly create your life or be a victim of circumstances?

If you are willing and ready (and we all are ABLE) to journey down the road less traveled, you will discover parts of yourself that will surprise you. My invitation for you is to consider what you want to leave behind as you travel down this road of courage and what you want to create as you go. What will 2009 be about for you? What do you want to create or step into? And I don't just mean goal line / material things like jobs, relationships, and so on. What do you want to experience more of in your life? Joy, peace, fun, laughter, fulfillment, faith? There are so many great, juicy and wonderful options! All you have to do is choose to courageously step forward and believe you can do it - and one step at a time is good enough. Personal discovery is not a race; it's a journey that lasts a lifetime. Are you ready to begin? Don't wait for change to come to you or for someone or something else to change it for you, change your life now.

Comments

[tameyourbrain]

Hi,
I learned a long time ago that you cannot be fearful of a future event if you expect that event to be positive. Every day I try to raise my expectations.
Jan

[munki]

YES! YES! YES!
Be proactive! and positive..­. Positive energy will merge.
Depression proof... in terms of NO PROZAC!

[rfreedom4u]

I will be courageous by continuing to write my congressman and the president about what policies of theirs I disagree with. I will also fight the rampant racism against me. I am sick of hearing how great all the minority races are but never a kind word about caucasians. Whites are people too and we can be proud.

[PhillyBella]

It's nice that a senior citizen like myself can still be inspired. I'm taking your words to heart. Thanks!

[timezone]

HuffPost's Pick

I think inertia stops more people than fear does. It's so easy to distract oneself with any number of mindless things than to start taking the steps to change or accomplish something important to them. Tomorrow always seems to be there, while right now, oooh, there's a Friends rerun I've seen ten times on right now.... No one has ever accomplished anything by just thinking about it and tomorrow or next week or next month or next year isn't guaranteed. In twenty years, I would rather think about the things I've tried and possibly failed at then think of all the time I wasted.

[cayuse]

Boy speaking up. Before Obama I use to shout at the TV driving the wife MAD. Blogging has helped ad did Obaman. I am still shouting about Drones killing Pakisani's who did not attack us. Blowing up a bank because it is being robbed never impressed me. So I am speaking up and Obama is not saying anything.

As an outsource person, some would call an employee, I have to speak up. I find those waiting to retire don't always speak up until the project is off and running and then you must stop and start again since they are the SME. Does allot to budget efficiency and time management us project manager must work to.

[Anne Naylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Thank you, Christine. I love your post. Changes do mean meeting the unknown and the unknown can be very scary. So the invitation to courage is wonderful. This is a great time for it. Courage has the French word for heart - coeur -in it. Love conquers fear.

I appreciate your thoughts here.

Warm regards,
Anne