Sunday, January 22, 2012

CONFIDENCE AND COURAGE


When students were asked to walk on a log of wood kept on the ground, they had no problem doing so and in fact, found it very funny. However, when the same was kept 15 feet over the ground between two trees, a component in them was introduced – FEAR.


Initially, a few daredevils tried to walk and succeeded – of-course with the help of a rope tied over their head, which helped them to get the secure feeling. Some just wouldn’t budge. 


On the surface, courage may look cool and easy and certain, but underneath, it's more likely to be hot, uncertain, uneasy, messy. People often say, "I thought I was nuts" or "People thought I was crazy" or "It made no sense." But I did it anyway. 


Then, after a class on blasting inhibitions and showing them how safe it really was, everyone was able to go through. 


They had learnt the art of shattering their FEAR. They experienced a new feeling – FEAR as an ‘energizer’ – not as a ‘paralyzer’. 


And then, later on they said - they were shy or timid or cowardly. "But I did it anyway." 


When it comes to courage, confidence is not the absence of uncertainty, doubt, fear, timidity, or shyness, but rather the willingness to act in spite of them. 


Confidence in a courageous moment is not always what it seems to be. While some people exude a ballistic kind of confidence and others a calm confidence, timid and shy were words we hear frequently.


So let us all experience this new feeling – FEAR not as a ‘paralyzer’ but a “ENERGIZER”