Be the Superhero Of Your Own Life: Redefining Bravery Through Heroic Everyday Life Pivots
Are you brave?
It’s an awkward question, isn’t it? “Brave” is not a word many people apply to themselves, but it is one we attribute to others — often for the wrong reasons.
There’s no singular definition of what it means to be brave, but let’s just agree that running into a burning building, risking your safety to protect an innocent victim, or volunteering to serve your country in battle all qualify as acts of heroism.
In addition to the incredible work performed by our armed forces and first responders, the pandemic revealed other courageous actors, like healthcare workers who continued to show up to work each day to treat the sick, despite the risk. The line between crazy and courageous is often very thin. And, thankfully, many continue to walk that line.
But are we ALL brave, merely for existing during this trying time? I don’t believe we are — by that metric, many millions of people are heroes simply by virtue of their birth into difficult circumstances. Empathy, generosity, and patience — for others and ourselves — are things we need more of. But someone deserving of our compassion does not auto-opt-in to courage.
Heroism is not the inevitable byproduct of suffering; it’s earned. And courage is a choice, not an inherited trait.
Your Call to Everyday Bravery
Bravery doesn’t demand that we all transform into death-defying superheroes. In fact, the most important place to center your awe-inspiring acts is in your everyday life. But unlike the above feats of heroism, most life events are not courageous in and of themselves. It’s a classic case of confusing the what with the how:
Growing old is inevitable, but how you consciously design and live your life as you age can be exceptionally brave.
Conception isn’t heroic, but the hard choices made before / during / after pregnancy and as a parent can be a call to courage.
Getting sick or suffering an accident, as tragic and gut-wrenching as it is, doesn’t instantly qualify you for a medal of freedom. What’s your mindset? How does that experience inform everything you do from that point forward? The answer to those questions is where real bravery operates.
How do you show up to yourself and the people you love on a daily basis? Is it a life you’re proud of? Are you choosing the hard-yet-satisfying path or the safely-disappointing one?
While caught up worrying about impressing others on social media, it can be easy to lose sight of whether you’re wowing yourself. Not with glittery bling or feigned perfection, but by making seemingly impossible choices that consistently push you down the path of transformation.
Choosing growth over stagnancy in our everyday lives is the single greatest act of bravery we can exhibit. It’s also the hardest.
Envy and dismissive excuses often creep in when we witness others making risky choices that lead to change:
I can’t believe Samantha quit her steady job to launch a startup. That’s impossible for me. Plus, it’s just financially irresponsible.
Tim finally found a way to live and work remotely — he looks so happy! Some people are just lucky.
Luisa continues to reinvent herself. I have no idea how she does it. Isn’t it exhausting? Clearly she doesn’t know who she is.
Has some version of these thoughts crept into your thinking or been lobbed at you? Probably. Is there some truth to them? Possibly. But there’s also a much bigger piece that isn’t acknowledged enough: the bravery it took to make these life pivots.
Convenience and courage are often at odds, but bravery doesn’t ask you to quit your job, move, and change partners tomorrow — or possibly ever. It does, however, ask you to examine the areas of your life that you may be taking for granted and, quite likely, make some uncomfortable choices. And remember: sometimes staying and fighting is the courageous choice. It’s not about running vs committing. Bravery is the ability to be honest with yourself and make the best possible decisions for the best possible outcomes. Uncertainty is a lifelong companion. Time to cozy up.
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As we close out another year in an altered reality, rethinking what “normal” is and might look like in the months and years ahead, what better time for a clear-eyed self-assessment? Make a list of the brave choices you’ll make in the New Year:
What would make the old you envious of the new you? Which “someday” / “in another life” scenarios might you start to entertain — and actualize?
Commit to being the superhero of your own life by making 2022 the year of your “life pivot.” Big or small, mental or physical, it doesn’t matter; just put something — anything — into action.
Stagnancy depletes us of the oxygen we need to flourish. So stop scrolling through the excitement of other people’s lives and be brave enough to create the life you long to embrace.
I believe you deserve it. Do you?
p.s. Know someone in need of a bravery boost? Share this article with them and challenge each other to some new life pivots.