How Do You Define Courage?

Real Courage When I think of courage, the images that immediately spring to my mind are the soldiers, first responders and ordinary citizens who acted courageously in wartime, or those who acted selflessly during times of great peril and threat to our nation's safety, such as during the 9/11 attacks. These people do not give a thought to their own safety: rather than running away from danger, as is one's natural, understandable instinct, they instead run to it, only thinking of others.

Courage is when your desire to help others and to do the right thing exceeds your own selfishness and your own fears, even your own desire for self-preservation. However, not all acts of courage are so dramatic and public. I remember once reading a story about a courageous man in my fifth grade class: he defended his family against what he believed to be a bear in the darkness, only to find out it was a rotten tree.

Even though he was never in any actual danger, this man was courageous because he believed the lives of his loved ones were being threatened. This is true of all of us: not everyone will have their mettle tested by war and wild animals. However, the definition of true courage lies in our ability to meet whatever challenges life throws in our path.

Sometimes these obstacles may be created in our mind (as in the case of someone who overcomes a fear or phobia); sometimes they may be real (as in the case of someone who must come to another person's rescue). Regardless, we must all meet these challenges with a spirit of bravery and defiance if we are to call ourselves courageous. I remember watching a swim meet in high school and seeing one poor swimmer paddling last, barely making it to the end of the pool.

Everyone applauded her because they knew she had shown courage in fighting back and overcoming her personal obstacles. She put aside her own pain and devoted herself courageously to a challenge for the good of her team. Even though she was not first, she was willing to try as hard as she could, putting aside her comfort for others. Every time a marathon is run, there are always many runners who choose to cover 26.2 miles on foot who are not elite runners and who find running challenging.

They do so to inspire the world; sometimes to run for charity or simply to improve their own health so they feel better about themselves and can live more effective lives. Although these athletes may not be as glamorous as Olympic-level stars, they too show courage. The obstacles that courageous people overcome may be in their own minds or outside themselves but the underlying idea is that they are not daunted by the prospect of failure.

Winston Churchill once said: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." People who are courageous are willing to take a risk and accept the possibility of failure because the perceived rewards are too great to ignore, whether it is Steve Jobs deciding to drop out of college to start.