The Courage to Change: Unlocking the Life You Were Meant to Live

A person’s courage significantly affects their quality of life. It allows them to overcome old habits, step out of their comfort zone, conquer new territory, and acquire tools that will serve and advance them in life.

People feel they've grown the most when they do things they never thought possible. Success is often deeply connected to the realization that we are stronger than our fears, and that fear lives primarily in the mind and imagination, far more than in reality.

Sometimes a person fears the consequences of a new decision, of voicing an unpopular opinion, or of apologizing and admitting fault. However these fears exist mainly in the mind, and there is usually no rational basis for them.

Most of the time, expressing yourself, making a change, or asking forgiveness doesn’t lead to catastrophic results. At best, the fear will prove completely baseless; at worst, it may result in a short moment of discomfort. In either case, people usually realize that the fear holding them back was unwarranted, and certainly not worth the opportunity lost.

Human beings feel good about themselves when they’re using their full potential- intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically. Fear holds back this potential, but courage unleashes it. For this reason, courage is a crucial key to happiness, growth, and renewal.

Strengthening Courage

We often fear new beginnings because we don’t believe in our own ability to succeed. But if we start, we can often go farther than we imagined.

Everyone has their own struggles, challenges, and tests. Sometimes, instead of asking G-d to take our burdens away, it’s better to ask Him for the tools to manage them- and courage is one of the most vital tools we can receive.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray for relief, but we must understand that sometimes the answer comes as strength instead of a rescue. With courage, we begin to see our true capabilities, we realize that challenges aren’t always as unbearable as they seem, and there is life after difficulty. The main obstacle is the fear itself which lives in our mind.

Courage allows us to see not just what is, but what could be. When our actions are driven by bold, hopeful vision, we tap into strength and freshness we never knew we had.

Fear, left unchallenged, creates a never-ending cycle. For example, someone who’s afraid to speak in public will avoid doing so, which in fact reinforces the fear at makes it worse each time. If however that person finds the courage to speak even once, they may discover the fear was only a shadow, and gain confidence to speak again.

Caution Alongside Courage

Courage must be balanced with responsibility. Acting recklessly, without weighing consequences, can lead to failure that damages a person’s self-belief.

We must integrate courage into our lives in a thoughtful, steady way. Extreme changes made too quickly usually don’t last. A person who tries to flip their life 180 degrees in one leap will likely fail- and that failure will cause them to feel even more hesitant next time.

With steady, manageable steps, a person can find success. With each win, they build confidence, which leads to more courage, and ultimately arrival at their goals.

Doesn’t Maimonides say (Hilchot Deot 2:2) that in order to fix a bad trait, one should lean to the extreme opposite? That seems to contradict what we’re saying. Maimonides explains that even when one must go to an extreme, it should still be done gradually. This is the only way real, lasting change can take root in a person’s character.