Courage to Speak Your Mind

Conversing openly takes enormous courage ! Think about the number of times you have withheld how you feel to a loved one because your long-held beliefs were in conflict or you chose not to speak up during a staff meeting to reveal your ideas out of concern of being ostracized or even fired. Our relationships are defined by the conversations we have (or do not have) with the people in our lives. So how honest should I be? 

Courage comes from the medieval Old French word corage, meaning “heart and spirit.” When you speak from your heart and spirit you are being true to yourself. Simply using the word “courage” to describe an action and outcome activates your voice and sets a context for positive action.      

One of my corporate courage coaching clients said, “I am so used to ‘filtering’ myself I almost forget I am doing it. My test of courage has been being able to share openly my deepest dreams and fears and true thoughts. With one exception in my life I have always kept a certain core totally to myself. Yet, when I was able to let go and candidly share this core, I felt enormously liberated.” This sixty-one year old client yearns to speak from his heart. Once he attains this level of self-realization (and eventually self-fulfillment) he is able to demonstrate his authenticity . Then, when his time comes to pass on, he will not be filled with regret or resentment. What percentage of your life is filled with regret right now?     

Authentic means “genuine; real.” When you combine the original meaning of courage (“heart and spirit”) with authenticity, you get the true you! If you long to alter the context of your life, to break through and achieve your noblest aspirations, then speaking the language of courage is the right tool.  You can determine the quality of your relationships by analyzing your conversations. For example, do you stay resentful toward your boss or partner telling others of his/her faults or do you take a stand in courage and make a declaration to speak to him/her? Ask yourself these few questions:

• Am I using courage to declare my feelings?

• How do I create my conversations with others?

• Do I blame my boss/mate instead of generating a new context for listening?

• Do I take responsibility to speak up to reveal the truth