Bravery is possible because fear was first possible

There is this misconception that being brave means being fearless.

This couldn't be farther from the truth.

Bravery is possible because fear was first possible. When you're not afraid to do something and you choose to do it, you cannot call yourself brave. When you're afraid AND you choose to do it while still being in fear, that's bravery.

The problem is we are conditioned to be ashamed to admit to fear and hence we believe that fearlessness should just come naturally to us.

But if you know how your body works, you know that we will never be able to eradicate fear from our system because it plays a vital role in our biology, in our survival, in our existence. It is necessary.

And because we have this unrealistic expectation to never be afraid or to "quickly fix" our fear, if and when we feel it rise in our body, we actually make it stronger by denying it's existence.

Fear feels harmful and can plague our lives only when we resist it and refuse to understand it for what it is. That's when it intensifies to the point where it prevents us from living an authentic life. This is true for every emotion that we labeled as negative and destructive, as if there is such a thing as destructive emotion.

I'm not saying let fear rule your life. I'm saying look at fear in the eyes for what it is instead of pretending it's not there. And then take the courageous action with this knowledge.

True bravery is when you work with your human nature, not against it.

Courage is not innate and reserved to special people, it is learned.

You need fear to transmute it into courage, at least in the beginning stages of embracing polarity and awakening.

We expect ourselves to never feel overwhelmed, to always be ready and up for challenges, difficulties and always know what the right thing to do is. Well, that's not the reality. And unless we understand that courage takes looking in the eyes of fear first, there's not much we can work with.