“Courage is fear that has said it’s prayers and has decided to go forward anyways.” – Joyce Meyer
Courage is something we’re taught to believe in from a young age. Our parents always told us to believe in ourselves, and when we were young, it was easy to believe that we could be anything we wanted to be when we grew up. However, now that we are grown up, fully believing in ourselves is often easier said than done.
For me, believing in myself has always been a challenge. It was easier to believe that I was capable of anything when I was younger because I knew that I had my whole life ahead of me to accomplish my goals. When I was 10, my 20s seemed so far away. I didn’t worry about the future. But now that I’ve entered my 20s, I see my younger years in a completely different way. Though I don’t wish I were in elementary school or middle school again, I do wish that I still had the mindset of infinite possibility that I had back then. I still see the world as a place full of opportunities, but I realized that I’ve set limits for myself.
I see now that I give myself boundaries so that I won’t take a risk, only to fail. I used to think that if I stayed within my comfort zone, I wouldn’t experience defeat. I realize now, though, that staying within my comfort zone results in more defeat than stepping outside of it. The limits we assign ourselves aren’t tangible; they are set by the voices in our heads that tell us we can’t do something because we aren’t good enough. I am tired of listening to those voices, and I’ve decided to silence them.
Joyce Meyer’s words are exemplary of how we should view the future. We have to believe in ourselves and trust everything will work out. This way, we can obtain a future we are proud of. Being courageous means having faith in the unknown, even when it is really difficult to do so. We owe it to ourselves to keep that faith. We can’t allow fear to hold us back. We must be courageous. If we are not, we will never discover how capable we truly are.
Photo Credit: Hailey Boerema