Having Courage

The poet David Whyte has written a couple of great books about corporate life. His first book on this topic is The Heart Aroused, which is a contemplation on the role of the soul in corporate America. Lately, I've been rereading it. It's powerful stuff.

A theme that comes up over and over again is one of career as an exercise in personal courage.

That resonates for me. It feels like one of the key themes of our exploration here, too. As we develop in our careers, we can face difficult choices--

Do I speak up, or do I stay silent?

Do I take on the new assignment, or do I stay with the tried and true?

Do I take a new job, or make a career change, or go back to school? Or do I do what I have always done?

Each of these decisions is about courage. The courage to say or do something new. The courage to find and express our authentic selves in a world that can seem to discourage (which means "to deprive of courage") expression.

We can feel that doing what we have always done is the safe option, but in today's turbulent times, nothing could be further from the truth. Staying the same can be the biggest risk of all.

The question isn't if we need to change, it is how. And how to get the courage, or encouragement, to do so.

Jeff