It turns out that courage is related to the Latin “cor” and French word for heart “couer.” When your heart is in “it” you are more likely to find the courage. When we hold someone or some idea at our core (heart) we will go beyond what we thought we were capable of. We can see this in families when another person is sick we rise to the occasion and stay up late, pick up the pieces – cooking, cleaning and driving more, make the time to visit the other and we may provide physical care in ways we never thought we would. We may not even have thought about what we did in terms of courage, but looking back, perhaps these actions did take courage.
So what does it take for you to have courage for yourself? Convictions, these are defined as firmly held beliefs which reflect what you value. They may be called core values. Notice the root “cor” showing up again.
Dealing with Heart Disease is scary; change in general is scary. Somehow when a problem is happening to you, it seems to take more courage. Along with the fear, change also provides opportunity. With heart disease your health has changed and there is probably a need for you to make life style changes. The amount of information may be overwhelming, the decisions as to how best to approach your healing, the fear of another cardiac event, and the fear of failure may all be in your way of successfully making changes. As challenging as all this is, there are also opportunities for you to become more aware of what you value and how you are living, and then consciously choose how you want to live. Making changes which are consistent with your convictions can lead to your better life.
What is it that you believe that will get you in touch with your courage, so that you will be able to make the changes? This personal conviction along with your vision of a better life can go a long way to sustaining your courage to make the changes. Remember, “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day saying ‘I will try again tomorrow.'” (from a post on WomenHeart’s Inspire)
To explore this and to develop practical strategies for how to implement the courage of your convictions, contact me.
Dina
203 744-YOU3 (9683)
What are some of the beliefs that sustain your courage?
