Bravery might not tie in directly with productivity and success, but I believe there are important advantages to cultivating a little more bravery than you’ve got right now.
I’m not talking about the kind of bravery that leads to fighting dragons, storming beaches, or charging into the teeth of enemy defenses. I’m talking about the kind of bravery that results in you having difficult conversations, addressing your weaknesses, choosing uncertain or unpopular courses of action, honoring long-term commitments that have grown burdensome, and doing what’s right despite incentives to do otherwise.
Here are some of the advantages that accrue to those who can demonstrate a little extra bravery:
Increased Self-Satisfaction and Confidence
The most direct payoff from showing a little extra bravery is feeling better about yourself. Your extra bravery will often produce these good feelings because it will result in improved situations and better outcomes, such as:
- You’ll get along better with the person with whom you have that difficult conversation.
- You’ll strengthen your weaknesses and expand your areas of competence.
- You’ll explore new terrain and potentially acquire some benefits from there.
- You’ll gain prestige and upgrade your reputation by showing the world your better nature.
and more.
Bigger and Better Opportunities
Just as the saying goes: “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it,” people reflexively recognize that a person demonstrating some extra bravery is the right choice for larger and more difficult opportunities.
As a result, cranking up your level of everyday bravery will help make you a contender for bigger and better opportunities. You will be offered more of them, and you will win a higher percentage of those you intentionally seek out and pursue.
What I find interesting is that many of these bigger and better opportunities won’t actually demand all that much bravery. But your bravery credentials will generate a kind of “halo effect” that enhances your standing in many other areas, as well.
Good Works
Bravery can include the courage to rob banks or cheat on your taxes, to be sure, but in the world I’m describing, the emphasis is on good works. By cultivating the bravery to – at least metaphorically – feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the unhoused, you begin to leave a trail of helpful efforts and beneficial results that make the world a better place.
These kinds of results are their own reward, of course. And yet in addition, they allow you to take extra pride in your activities and your impact on everything and everyone around you.
Piles of Good Will and Admiration
It won’t be just you who rates you higher as a result of the good works your bravery facilitates: others will think more highly of you, as well.
Your favorable reputation will precede you to many of the places you’ll go. You’ll be more often recognized, more often sought out for your opinion and your analyses, and more often honored for actions you may not have anticipated would be so well-received.
In short, the actions enabled by your extra bravery will earn you “points” with other people, enhancing your acceptance and perceived value farther and wider than you might now imagine.
Better Relationships
Your extra bravery and willingness to engage with others – with a wider range of people as well as a wider range of conversations – will add to your level of authenticity and result in deeper, better relationships.
This alone would make some extra bravery a valuable characteristic to cultivate. Studies indicate the quality of one’s personal relationships are pretty much the one and only factor that determines happiness in your work and your life. If bravery can kick up that attribute, then hand me my sword and let me get busy!
You might want to, as well.
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