"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

What is an Act of Courage?

Acts of courage can be anything that requires us to step outside of ourselves and take a reasonable, prudent, interpersonal risk. This does not mean that one should go out on a date with someone contacted in a chat room on the internet, but might mean that you finally ask a co-worker to go out to lunch. An act of courage might mean speaking up and expressing our thoughts or opinions in front of others. It might mean trying something new, meeting new people, joining a club or group, or singing a solo at church. An act of courage might be returning to school after twenty years, starting a new business or sharing with a friend. It might be learning to ride a horse or confronting some secret fear or phobia. Acts of courage may require us to trust others, ourselves or our concepts of Faith and God. And some acts of courage may be part of our everyday lives, like the kinds of challenges faced by disabled persons or others suffering hardship on a daily basis. Sometimes it takes courage to simply live life.

Among seniors interviewed for this work, many expressed strong feelings of pride and accomplishment when they described past situations that required courage. While some expressed regret over specific outcomes, none ever regretted confronting their fear or taking a reasonable risk. Looking back at their lives, seniors could approve of the actions they had taken and acknowledge the personal growth they gained from courageous choices. No one needed to tell them that they had done well, they knew it for themselves. Though years had passed, most were able to vividly describe their struggles during challenging times, but felt their regrets would have been greater if they had never made an effort to change or improve their situation. Most clearly remembered the facts that influenced their decision and described a specific moment when the decision to act, was made. They internalized these deeply significant events as concrete proof that they had become strong, courageous, honorable or wise. These seniors tended to value character traits that included courage, honor, faithfulness and integrity. For them the development of treasured character traits was an accomplishment in two ways. First, they provided personal strength at the time of the crisis. Then, the traits tended to become permanent over time. When loved ones, careers, skills and abilities were gradually lost through aging, the character aspects of personhood, developed through life experience remained. This successful image of self-combined with religious beliefs that included a personal relationship with God, provided consolation to many at the end of their lives.

As with all opposite acts, acts of courage or trust improve self-esteem by increasing feelings of control and competency. By encouraging people to attempt meaningful, freely chosen, reasonable risks, Opposite Action empowers people and destroys one of the effects of violence. Acts of courage are especially meaningful because only the individual can fully assess the risk of a particular choice, and only the individual knows the true depth of fear. Banishing fear restores life to those disabled by it. Acts of courage and trust resurrect people smothered by fear and foster the return of individual differences.