49 Reasons To Be Brave

Being brave sounds good, but doesn't it only really come in useful if you're a trapeze artist reaching out for that bar and hoping you connect, an astronaut bursting through the atmosphere at a gazillion miles an hour, or in the unenviable position of having to land a plane in the Hudson river?

Well, no.

We get bravery wrong, thinking that it has to be some big, life-changing gesture akin to facing down a tank in Tiananmen Square.

But being brave comes in all shapes and sizes, and you only really know what it looks like for you when you're in a situation where you either choose to be brave, or you don't.

Here are 49 reasons for you to be brave.

1. Saying yes to that opportunity because of how it will help you grow
2. Saying no to that opportunity because it won't allow you to grow
3. Asking them out on a date, because you love who you are when you're with them
4. Finally standing up to a friend who keeps treating you badly
5. Because you want to set fresh expectations with your partner about what you need in your relationship
6. Going to that event, even though you don't know anybody there and don't know what it's going to be like
7. Speaking up in a meeting when there are big personalities around you
8. Explaining to your boss that you think there's a better way, even though consensus seems to be against you
9. Opening up to someone about what you're really scared about
10. Asking for help because you're tired of doing it alone
11. Approaching someone you admire greatly and asking if you can talk about an idea you have
12. Making yourself vulnerable with someone you like or care about, because you're tired of hiding
13. Quitting that pet project you've been plugging away at because you've outgrown it or it no longer energises you
14. Showing someone else the results of your creativity instead of keeping it to yourself
15. Saying "Fuck yes" to a new project, for no other reason than it feels fun or exciting
16. Saying "Fuck no" to a new project, for no other reason than it doesn't feel fun or exciting
17. Letting go of a relationship that only makes you feel at your worst
18. Confronting the reality of your finances and choosing to be responsible for it
19. Owning up to your part in a bad situation rather than assigning blame elsewhere
20. Prioritising genuine nourishment over false comfort or numbing habits
21. Choosing what feels crazy over what's practical or logical
22. Believing that you can start, even though you're not sure you can finish
23. Letting your partner know what you want sexually
24. Leaving people behind who make you feel small
25. Because you finally realise that your heart lies elsewhere
26. Making yourself uncomfortable when you could more easily have made yourself safe
27. Leaving behind your home, your town and your friends because of an irresistible opportunity elsewhere
28. Letting go of how someone hurt you, because it no longer serves you to keep it close
29. Deciding to learn to do something that makes you feel exposed, like public speaking, going to the gym or dancing
30. Telling your manager "No", you can't take on any more work right now
31. Because you don't want to have it be a struggle any more, and need help on where to go next
32. Choosing to deal with a block that's holding you back, like a fear of intimacy, a belief that you're not good enough or even a fear of flying
33. Telling someone you love them
34. Telling someone you don't love them
35. Admitting to a mistake you made, even though you might just get away with it
36. Hearing what your body is telling you, especially if it might be bad news
37. Standing up for yourself when others are trying to sway you in your thinking or action
38. Deciding that you can't fit in with what others expect of you any more, because you don't like who you are when you do that
39. Going back to school or college to learn something you really love
40. Embracing change, even when those closest to you don't want you to change
41. Quitting your job because it's damaging you, even though you have nothing else lined up
42. Admitting that you've been wrong to people whose respect you crave
43. Because you're tired of pretending that everything's great all the time
44. Deciding to stop trying to be something you're not to someone who doesn't want you as you are
45. Realising that what you've been doing won't make you happy
46. Letting go of dogmatic beliefs even if those beliefs have defined part of your identity
47. Choosing to take a stand in your life, right now, rather than just going with the flow
48. Not hiding the stuff that matters to you just because it doesn't matter to people around you
49. Choosing self-compassion over indifference or self-judgement

There are more reasons to be brave, of course.

As many reasons as there are choices.

And when it comes to that moment, that moment when you wonder if you have bravery inside you, or how to be brave, you only need to make one choice.

Does it matter enough for me to do the brave thing?