Triumph in the Trying

What was your last brave act? How did your body react? Could you feel yourself getting bigger and more powerful?

There are times when it is difficult for some of us to walk into a crowded room of strangers. Our brave act might be putting a smile on our face and extending our hand. You might need to stand up to an overbearing parent or partner, and sometimes even to a willful child. Our bravery takes on different faces depending on where we are in our lives. Because what was an act of bravery to us at fifteen can become a part of who we are at twenty-five.

Brave Daughter, Triumph in the Trying

Look back to your first brave act.  Where did that courage come from? Answer: It came from within. Something inside you said “Go For It”, this will be worthwhile. And it was, because to this day, you remember it. And whether you were successful at your attempt or not you still remember how it felt. The triumph in the trying, I call it. You did more than the person who just didn’t try.

When I was in grade 8, I had finally saved enough to purchase a brand new guitar. Well, truth be told, I was quite awful and to this day my singing voice has not improved. I gathered a group of close friends and we auditioned for our school Spring Carnival, which was a very cool thing to do in the seventies! We did not make the cut, but boy did we have fun. I still remember fondly that event and the anticipation of success I felt on that stage.

That anticipation is how I feel each time I try something new to this day.

Each brave act, whether it happened when you were six and went to your first ballet class or at sixty-six when you wove on a loom for the first time are yours to keep. The satisfaction and the joy of doing something new becomes the momentum that gives rise to our confidence. 

Look around at the happiest people you know, my guess is that they have a wide assortment of experiences. They might work all day or raise a family but at some point in their lives they were brave enough to pick up a paint brush, run a marathon, build a house, or learn to fly.

Be brave today and every day, experience the triumph in the trying. Who knows how far you can soar.

Now tell me, what’s your first memory of being brave? Or what was your brave act for today? (Click to Tweet)