It takes courage to do things, in particular, risky things.
Right?
Or not?
I had a fascinating conversation with someone who wanted to be more courageous at work. Yet, she is also a climber.
It seems to me it takes a lot of courage to hang using only your fingertips from a crack in the rock, suspended hundreds of metres above the void. Yet, she feels that's not courage at all. She just loves the feeling of climbing so much that she just does it. She's aware of the risks, but they're not big enough to stop her from experiencing the adrenaline of climbing.
Her words remind me of other climbers talking about their hazardous exploits. They seldom talk about themselves as courageous. They understand and deal with the risks but are not scared by them.
So, maybe when we say that it takes courage to do something, it's because we don't know how beautiful that something can be, or we just don't find it compelling enough to actually do it.
Because if you knew how fulfilling that experience is, you'd just do it.
So, next time I need the courage to do something, I'll ask myself why I want to do that thing and what makes it so important to me. And if I find the answer, I may not need courage at all.