Readers..
This month has been crazy. We have explored courage in so many ways and we have all learned so much about ourselves and what we stand for. Courage can be found in the most amazing of places, and can be totally unexpected. We show it in ways we will never fully understand and we are unaware of how much courage we all truly hold. Courage is one of those words that have a lot of ambiguity behind them. We never truly know what it means to have courage, or how to find it. But we hope this month has made it at least a bit easier.
To end the month of March, Team Courage has collaborated to give to you this video on what courage truly is. We sincerely hope you enjoy this video and share the YouTube link with everyone you know!
Thank you for being such an amazing audience, we couldn’t have done this without you. After all, this is project courage..
If possible, listen to this song as you read this reflection. Or listen to it after you read the reflection and just think. Think about what this song means to you, what visuals you get from it. Think about courage, think about friendship, and let’s go back and think about self-reflection. How do those connect? If we can find ourselves, if we can get the courage to learn new things about ourselves, perhaps we will be surprised at what we have to learn. Perhaps we will be better friends and people. Perhaps we will understand our actions and choices, perhaps we won’t worry about making mistakes or speaking our minds. Perhaps we will have courage. So listen to this song, if not while reading this reflection, then listen to it after you read it and close your eyes. There’s no lyrics, just melody. Here is The Cinematic Orchestra’s Arrival of the Birds and Transformation.
Jeremiah: This week I was given an opportunity that fit this challenge perfectly. It’s sort of a cliche example, but why not. I saw the status of someone on Facebook bashing someone else. People started commenting all kinds of nasty little things about this person I hadn’t even met, but it still didn’t sit well with me. I considered leaving it, but I thought it wasn’t right, so I decided to help this person out. I commented saying that they shouldn’t be saying these kinds of things, and that was that, she took the post down. It didn’t take much, but publicly going against what the norm was at that moment did take a lot of courage. That’s really all it takes; speaking out, saying what you know is right. It’s ridiculously over-said, but that’s because it’s true. Confidence goes a really long way, people notice when you have it. Standing up for what you personally believe, even if it’s against what’s being said at the time, will earn you respect. Though it’s difficult; you don’t know how people will react, or if they’ll even be your friend anymore. But any friend who doesn’t respect what you believe is not a true friend. It’s important not to force your beliefs on people, but don’t forsake them. This has been pretty darn intense. Like camping. (intense…in tents…bahaha).
Hannah: I am a very opinionated person. I don’t find it hard to speak my mind to those who I am close to, but find it extremely difficult to speak it to people I don’t know very well. I find that I get overemotional… I’ll either end up getting very angry or I will get really upset. But not only is it important to find courage in your words and to speak them to everyone but I believe that it’s also important to know when to hold back your opinions. This week I had to work with some people I don’t know very well on a school project. In situations like this I often find it hard to voice what my thoughts are for the project especially if it is different than theirs. But I decided that it was time to stop my timidness, to speak out about what I wanted to happen in this project. I felt nervous about it at first but quickly realized that I had points to back up what I had to say and why I wanted things to go a certain way. I did feel oddly proud of myself for being able to speak up for myself. The important thing is that I got my ideas out there for them to think about. I think that people, including me, find it hard to voice their opinions most of the time because they are afraid of being laughed at or having their voices ignored. It’s time to end this fear. You have important things to say, you will be heard, you will find the courage to do this, no matter how hard it is in the beginning. Once you break through the tough times at the beginning, you may be surprised that the hard things you once feared start to come naturally.
Kyndra: This week I worked on not settling with what everyone else wanted me to agree with. I spoke my opinion and fought back. When I believe in something I wasn’t going to just let it go. It allowed me to do what I wanted and needed, and allowed me to put myself first. I spoke how I felt and didn’t just let it go, I wasn’t just sitting in the bleachers, I was in the game. I feel like its important to speak your mind when you think it’s something worth fighting for. You need to realize that when something is important to you, you can’t just shrug it off and leave it, you need to fight for it. You need to realize that you can’t just stand on the sidelines but you need to get out there and be courageous. I know speaking your mind is scary. You fear what others will think and who will ridicule you. You are afraid of offending others or perhaps you just don’t want to fight because conflict isn’t your thing. But you need to be strong and believe in your opinions as they are valuable. They are important and could really make a difference.
Nathan: This week I don’t have much to tell. The courage I found was very small. I had no big secrets to tell, no inspiring monologues to deliver, no grand defensed of someone whose been wronged. Instead, what did I do? I tried not to hold back my speech like I often do. For some strange reason, silence is always the better option in my head, even for the smallest of things, like asking for a piece of gum from a friend. The littlest things make me bite my tongue, and I altered that this week. In class I tried to give answers and contribute to discussions. I was more vocal at work, offering more help then is typical for me. I was just overall more vocal. It’s not much, but it’s something I’m usually not. There are times in life where biting your tongue might be the better option, but more often then not what you have to say is valid. Say what you need to say when you need to say it. There’s no use holding out, you may miss your opportunity. Tell your mom you don’t like those shoes, because before you know it, you’ll be wearing them to yoga. Invite your friend to hangout before they make other plans. There is a power in words, and you can easily utilize it. It just takes the initiative.
Let’s begin this week with a few jokes. It’s been snowing like crazy where I live, and it probably is the longest winter we have seen in a long time. So here are a few jokes about snow. If you live in a place without snow, I am sorry you are unable to relate.
Q: Why did Frosty the snowman want a divorce? A: Because he thought his wife was a flake
Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire? A: Frostbite.
Q: What do Snowmen call their offspring? A: Chill-dren.
CHALLENGE #2
This challenge goes with last week’s. I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone again and step out if your routine. But what is your “comfort zone” really? What is this invisible boundary that we feel so comfortable and secure inside? Also, how could we benefit from breaking out of our comfort zone? Picture your comfort zone being a chalk circle drawn around you, instead of stepping out of the red circle, why don’t you slowly make your circle larger? Every day, you could draw another circle outside of that circle, and then as time passes, your “comfort zone” grows. That’s what I would like Project Courage to help you accomplish. Instead of forcing you out of your red circle, let’s just make it slightly larger every day.
I could send you all a variety of inspirational quotes to do with courage and stepping beyond your routines to challenge yourself but why would I do that? I know I know, I use them in photos all the time but that’s the point. The point is, we hear inspirational sayings all the time that we have almost become desensitized to them. Rarely do we find a sentence that is so powerful that strikes us completely and moves us to action. So let’s look at the benefits… what do we get when we step out of our comfort zones? Perhaps if we talk about the benefits, then we will all be more convinced to draw another red circle.
Comfort kills productivity: When we stay in our comfort zones, we become less productive. Face it, it’s a fact. We begin to lose our ambition and become too relaxed with the routines.
It’ll only get easier: The first few times you draw that circle, it’ll seem terrifying. You may even regret your decision and become anxious or nervous. But you’ll become used to the anxiety and adrenaline that comes with making a new choice or action. It’ll motivate you and push you further.
It stimulates the mind: When we become accustomed to our actions and day-to-day lives, we begin to lose the gratitude and joy we have for the little things in life. We forget to stop and smell the flowers or marvel at the sunshine. Breaking out of routine allows new areas of your brain to activate, promoting the growth of neuronal connections.
So here are some ways that you could step out of routine this week… I hope you’ll continue to challenge yourself in new ways.
if you drive or walk to work/school/anywhere else, take a different route
go vegetarian for a week
go to a new restaurant on a whim and order something that you have never tried before
shower at the opposite time that you normally would
reverse your morning routine; do you normally dress then eat then make your bed? Do that in reverse!
See? It could be so easy, but break your routine this week and try something new. You may find it scary and uncomfortable, but you also may find it rewarding and spectacular. Courage can be found in the smallest of ways, and this week I want my readers to feel accomplished that you have all made your circles a little larger.
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Courage quotes courtesy of http://wekosh.com/daily-motivational-quotes-courage-quotes. Snow jokes retrieved from http://www.jokes4us.com/miscellaneousjokes/weatherjokes/snowjokes.html.
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