While many claim that courage and heroic are synonymous, commingling
them as such does a disservice to the concept of courage. Firefighter Captain Mary
agrees, "People notice heroes dealing with disaster and emergency
responses. When a civilian dials 911 for help, it's a day from hell for his/her
life. But, it's no big deal to me. I don't appreciate it when my career is
integrated or associated with disasters much less heroism. I am a skilled
professional doing my job."
Most of the time, courage is misapplied to focus on fictional drama or
soap opera sagas, unrelenting sorrow, sensationalism, famous people or the
historically deceased. For the rest of us, notions of courage as only extreme
heroism examples diminish the opportunities to claim and display the heartfelt
value of courage in us all.
The word "courage" comes from the French word
"corage," meaning "heart and spirit," which tells us that
acting with courage is really about acting from your heart and spirit - from
the center of your being. "Being" reveals your true Self.
Below are a few chewable distinctions to discern everyday
courage-centeredness or being a hero:
• The word courage is interpreted more frequently in the media as the
word heroic. Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt and Princess Diana are known as
heroic images. Washington D. C. is a virtual shrine to heroes. During the
annual review of September 11, 2002, CNN featured "Courage Under
Fire" about the loss of naval personnel at the Pentagon.
• Two contemporary examples of heroic actions were the United Airlines
Flight 93 that crashed into a farmer's field outside a small town in
Pennsylvania, and the heroic responses we watched on television during the
World Trade Center terrorist attack.
• A PGA golf tournament commentator referred to a challenging golf shot
by Tiger Woods this way: "Tiger's going for another courageous shot!"
This statement implies risk-taking or "going for it."
• May 3, 2003 at the Kentucky Derby identified the race as a
"Courageous race."
• Tori Murden McClure (who rowed the Atlantic Ocean solo) was known as a
hero.
• A quote from the movie about the winning horse Seabiscuit: "It's
never their feet; its right here" (points to his heart-this is where true
courage lives).
• Christopher Reeves was a contemporary story of amazing physical
courage. A spokesperson for the advancement of paraplegics walking, he was
determined to walk again. To ensure we kept informed about his progress and
intent, his son produced a documentary called "Courageous Steps" for
ABC television (9-18-02).
Examples of these various events challenge people to reexamine their
entire lives and values. Soon you learn to differentiate between being
courageous in everyday life and being a hero. With increased courage
consciousness you also begin to recognize the facets of courage such as
physical courage, spiritual courage, leadership courage, individual courage,
emotional courage, moral/ethical courage.
Learning a new skill, balancing work and family, or transitioning to a
new industry is rarely celebrated as stories of amazing courage. Everyday
courage has been relegated to the mundane. Isn't that a shame? We should be in
awe of the heroes of amazing stories... and of our neighbor's everyday courage
as well!
Sandra Ford Walston is known as The Courage Expert and innovator of
StuckThinking™. She is an internationally recognized speaker, human potential
consultant, author and entrepreneur for twenty years who helps organizations,
teams and individuals tap into their courage. She found that there is a direct
correlation between your success quotient and your courage quotient. She also
instructs at the University of Denver. Featured on the speaker circuit as
witty, provocative, concrete and insightful, she has changed the lives of
thousands of leaders each year. Sandra's the internationally published author
of three books. All her books are available on http://www.sandrawalston.com and
internationally on Kindle.
By Sandra Ford Walston Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sandra_Ford_Walston/642995
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