ACTING WITH COURAGE

ACTING WITH COURAGE
Ask With Intent
Listening Without Excuse
ACTING WITH COURAGE

As a continuation of that part of my mission that deals with rational thinking, decision making and implementation, I come to the third part, "Acting with Courage"....

Recapping, once I've "Asked with Intent", meaning that I'm looking for the actual answer to the question, and not the one I might want to hear, then "Listened without Excuse", meaning that I have not tried to rationalize my way out of said answer, even though my "whim worship" may not like what I hear, then I have to move on the final step in the process. "Act with Courage".

The short form of these three is simply,

"Think, Decide and Act."

Courage is a fundamental principle, and can be difficult but, as I've said in previous posts, typically, the consequence for not having courage is worst. That's why I quoted Ayn Rand's, "I'm not brave enough to be a coward".

I believe it is important to note that the "Act with Courage" needs to be preceded by rational thinking, as it not simply a matter of acting against fear, as fear can be a useful signal in showing us what to avoid, and ignoring can have dire consequences, but if rational though has preceded a decision, and it becomes clear that an action is the correct one, (or at least the best choice, based on the available information), then taking action is a critical step, in order to reach any desirable outcome not to mention one's person integrity and self-esteem.

It is all too common for people to know, in many cases, quite specifically what action or actions they need to take to improve their lives, and to simply procrastinate, which is at the root of poor outcomes, and low self-esteem.

Whether we habitually take actions or habitually procrastinate, there is a cumulative effect in our lives, our self-esteem, and our overall happiness, the latter of which I believe is the moral purpose of our lives.

Even taking wrong actions, which is inevitable, as we are not omniscient, is better than procrastination, as it will help us to make distinctions to take better actions, and continually being a person of action will increase our self-esteem, even if we make mistakes, which of course we can't avoid.

That is why I love another Ayn Rand quote:

"And because, were she lying crushed under the ruins of a building, were she torn by the bomb of an air raid, so long as she was still in existence she would know that action is man's foremost obligation, regardless of anything he feels - "

Thanks again for reading!