4 Ways to Manifest Bravery Before You Can Be Good.

I have to admit, I haven’t read the specific graphic novel that this quote comes from, but rather I came in contact with this quote from the movie Hearts Beat Loud.

This quote struck me in a profound way because it is a calling to be more than simply getting the task done, setting a list, and checking all of the boxes. To be brave is to go beyond what is expected into a space that does not exude comfort and peace. In the spirit of this quote from Saga Vol. 5, I have come up with 4 ways to Manifest Bravery before you can be Good.

1. Make Mistakes...Make alot of Messy Mistakes

I have a daughter who is currently in preschool and she loves to draw and color. We were out at a restaurant and I brought her coloring book and crayons with me so that she would have something to do before our food came. My wife made the observation that she was doing a wonderful job of coloring inside of the lines. It was very clear my daughter was concentrating on keeping the colors inside of the lines. Then she stopped, put her crayon down, looked up at me, and asked, “Daddy, can I color outside the lines?!?” Picture the largest puppy eyes a 3-year-old can give you. You know the kind. I told her of course you can! To help encourage her in the affirmation of messiness that I had just condoned, I asked if I could help her color outside the lines on the current page that she was on. Those puppy eyes transformed into the biggest chubby cheek smile that could have warmed an entire ski resort. I promptly colored outside the lines with a big smile on my face and a giggle bursting from my daughter’s core.

Messy is great.

Mistakes are Excellent.

Why do so many tell us that failure is bad?

The best stories that we tell around the lunch breaks, lounges, and restaurant tables are the failures and the victories that came from those failures. It is our failures that fan the flame of our creativity, grit, and passion to forge innovation and ideation beyond any previous plan.

Mark Batterson writes in his book Chase the Lion, “The cure for the fear of failure isn’t success. The cure for the fear of failure is a failure in small enough doses that we build up an immunity to it.”

Challenge: Make at least 3 mistakes today and start to live a different story of innovation and passionate messy!

2. Invest in You. Build the Foundation.

Along the lines of getting messy, the biggest challenge to our mistakes and growth are the thoughts feelings, and reactions of those around us. In some cases, it is the perceived thoughts of those around us, without any merit or evidence to back up the so-called “feelings”. I have found that experiences have moments of ups and downs with this focus.

A drive to do well.

A craving to be seen.

An addiction to showcase success.

Self-pride is the entity that needs that food to be sustained. Yet, that isn’t the food that the soul needs. I have found that the best that I feel comes when I am able to invest back into myself: my passions, my curiosities, and my family. Discovering success in our careers and interests holds great significance. There exists an innver voice pushing for greater accomplishments. However, prioritizing personal development will yield far greater benefits than the busy work that might b. around you. One valuable resource for this purpose is the "focus time" feature in Google Calendar, which enables the safeguarding and scheduling of dedicated periods for personal growth.

Alllocate time, construct. afoundation, and invest in you to build your brave.

Challenge: What is the next step of investment you need to make in yourself? Do it? Set 3 Focus times this week.

3. Ask the Dumb Questions

I’ll never forget, in third grade, I had a question about a math problem. I raised my hand, my teacher called on me and my question filled the room. Following my question, laughs echoed around me because apparently, my question was one that some thought was an easy answer. Yet, I received my answer and was able to understand the unit moving forward. The funny part is, that the statement “there are no dumb questions” is spoken in classrooms around the world. We want to build curiosity and deeper thought processes, and the only way to do this is to ask questions. Pastor Craig Groeschel shared a story about how his doctor would ask his patients 21 questions in order to do two things. First, to fully understand the patient and what they are feeling. Second, to test his initial thoughts and confirm his thinking about the diagnosis.

Questions drive innovation. Questions create new pathways for solving problems and developing new solutions. Pride can stop the questions, worrying about the “dumb” questions. The reality is, that we can’t succeed without the dumb questions. Malcolm Gladwell shared in an interview, “My father has zero intellectual insecurities. It has never crossed his mind to be concerned that the world thinks he’s an idiot. He’s not in that game. So if he doesn’t understand something, he just asks you. He doesn’t care if he sounds foolish.” That is power. That is BRAVE. Ask the question without the insecurity of those around you.

Challenge: Ask more dumb questions, and don’t care about who hears them.

4. Build Consistency

This is probably the most challenging of the steps of being brave. Consistency is boring. Consistency doesn’t bring the flash. Consistency is not what we see on the social threads. And yet any success finds consistency as one of the base ingredients. In each of the previous steps, consistency is the glue that holds each of them together. Consistently ask dumb questions to have a deeper understanding, consistently invest in yourself, and consistently make mistakes that open new opportunities for success. Consistency is key is so cliche it drips off this screen, but it is true. What consistencies need to be developed into habits to help build that success?

In the mini-series “Courage to Run” with Chip Gains and Gabe Gruenwald, audiences watched the transformation of Chip Gains into a marathon runner based on consistency and a program that worked because the time was invested in him over time.

Challenge: Build consistent habits in small steps and become Brave!