At all times, courage was considered a positive quality, one of the main virtues, as well as a sign of a spiritually developed personality. There is not a single timid person who, at least once in his life, has not thought about how to become brave and learn to control the feeling of fear. Developing this strong-willed character trait is not an easy task; it requires titanic work and constant work on oneself.
Psychological portrait of a brave man
To become bold and courageous, you need to know what characteristics are inherent in a decisive and self-confident person. A person can be called brave only if he meets the following requirements:
- Knows how to keep emotions under control, adequately assesses the situation and is able to make the right decision, relying solely on the voice of reason.
- He knows what he wants and does not give up on his goal, even if he has to make certain sacrifices to achieve it.
- Responsible for his words and actions.
- Ready to fight for the honor and dignity of loved ones.
- He soberly assesses his capabilities, but never gives in to difficulties.
A daredevil differs from a coward in that in any situation he does not lose face and does not cave in under the pressure of public opinion. Courage allows you to believe in a bright future, because a courageous person realizes that fate is entirely in his hands.
Let's take the right attitude
It is very important to set yourself up correctly. Maybe this is stupid, but 90% of the results of all affairs and undertakings depend on the mood
You need to gather your courage, stand in front of the mirror and loudly, clearly, looking into your eyes, tell yourself: “I can do it. I will do it. I will succeed. I know how to be brave and courageous, and I will never stray from this path.” And every time doubts and fear creep up, you need to remember that person looking from the mirror and mentally say these words.
How can you become bolder with this? It's quite simple. A person behaves the way he feels. If the mood is for failure, then your behavior with others will be very calm, exciting for yourself, and you yourself will look like small and poor. If you are in a cheerful mood, then you will behave cheerfully with others, joke, flirt and enjoy communication. When is the attitude “I am confident in myself. I can do everything. I’ll do it,” then you feel encouraged, confident, strong, capable of moving mountains. However, attitude alone is not enough.
The Nature of Fear
To develop courage, you first need to conquer your fears, many of which originate in childhood. Severe fear and fear are a response of the nervous system to a situation that forces a person to flee or capitulate to danger. At the same time, the adrenal glands begin to actively produce the hormone cortisol, which provokes severe stress.
Thus, fear is a natural reaction of the body , based on chemical processes in the body and reinforced by the environment, which teaches a person to always be on guard. The ability not to be afraid of anything and not to panic is developed through proper training of consciousness.
Any attempt to hide from a real or perceived threat by burying your head in the sand makes fear stronger. The longer a person searches for an excuse for his cowardice, the more time he will spend panicking about the possible undesirable consequences of a particular situation.
Only by looking into the face of your fear can you find an effective weapon against it.
Courage is movement. With every new step you are getting closer to your goal!
If something resonated with you while reading the text and it seems to you that the situation and symptoms described in the article are similar to your case, and you would like to solve this problem, you can call me first at + 7 (926) 169-36 -63 to talk about your problem that you want to solve.
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Developing self-confidence
In a good way, an arrogant and self-confident person who is not afraid to take responsibility and realizes that he is stronger than circumstances has a much easier life than someone who is captive of fear. Confidence allows you to do bold things . Its development will require a lot of effort, time and self-discipline, but the game is worth the candle.
Modern books on psychology contain many recommendations that allow you to become a fearless person, capable of moving forward in spite of difficulties. In particular, they talk about the importance of faking confidence until it becomes an integral part of character. You can try to deceive your mind by pretending to be a brave daredevil. For example, invite the girl you like on a date, promising yourself not to worry if she refuses.
As soon as you manage to cope with fear, you should consolidate your success with encouragement. It can be expressed both in a material reward (a favorite dish, a bottle of expensive alcohol) and intangible (a visit to the cinema, a country holiday).
Under no circumstances should you allow failures and internal limitations to dictate your terms. Only those who do nothing make no mistakes. It is unlikely that you will be able to become a courageous person without hitting the big time, so you should not be afraid of failures on the path to gaining courage.
What it is
Decisiveness is a natural state. It is necessary every second to get out of different situations, as well as to make decisions. Fear and uncertainty often block this quality. A person is lost, worried, and cannot gather his thoughts together. After which panic and disturbance of the nervous system appear.
A decisive person is always self-confident, able to show perseverance, and the ability to make decisions. Such people have no fear. Anyone can have determination. You need to learn to trust your intuition, be independent and responsible.
Leaving your comfort zone
Giving up your usual lifestyle may be anxiety-provoking at first, but it will give you the opportunity to rise above your fears. Performing new actions teaches you to be calmer about surprises, which, in fact, give rise to doubts and fear. Learning how to overcome fear in a specific situation will enable you to demonstrate courage when faced with unexpected circumstances.
A reasonable move beyond the comfort zone into the territory of risk is a necessary condition for personal growth. You need to learn to remove fear when meeting something new. It's worth starting small . For example, approach a stranger on the street with a request.
Everyone has things they just can't do. One is unable to overcome himself and object to a leader whose radical demands run counter to his personal beliefs, the other is afraid to jump with a parachute, although he has long dreamed of it. Sometimes you can get rid of these fears, but sometimes you can’t.
There is clearly no point in over-reflecting on this matter. It happens that the reluctance to be bold is a manifestation of an adaptive model of behavior, when a person simply does not see the point in doing something that causes him fear. You should focus on developing courage in other situations. So, you can first discuss your views with a close friend, and only then express everything to your boss.
The concept of courage and its impact on life
Courage refers to the strong-willed qualities that characterize self-control, along with the concepts of endurance and determination. The definition of courage (or, in other words, bravery) is as follows: this is the ability (innate or developed) of an individual to suppress the instinct of self-preservation and the defensive reaction that manifests itself in fear, decisively controlling one’s consciousness, behavior and actions.
In fact, there is nothing shameful or unusual in the appearance of fear. This is a defense mechanism of the body that occurs regardless of the will and desires of the individual. And just the same, a brave person is one who knows how to maintain composure in any situation, effectively eliminating the manifestation of biological reactions. Courage can and should be developed, because it is this irreplaceable character trait that helps people believe in themselves, decisively move forward, achieving their goals and expanding their horizons of possibilities. It was not without reason that they said in Rus': “The city takes courage,” “Where there is courage, there is victory.” And these proverbs have been fully tested by time and people.
Useful advice from psychologists
Courage is a quality that needs to be developed and constantly maintained, no matter how hard it may be. To go through this difficult path, you should adhere to the following recommendations:
- Get ready to work productively on yourself. Achieving the final goal without the right psychological attitude will be very problematic.
- Believe in yourself. You need to stop paying attention to other people's opinions and listen to the advice of strangers. You need to learn a lesson from past mistakes and no longer dwell on past failures.
- Don't avoid your fears. If a person is afraid to fly on an airplane, one should not ignore flights, but, on the contrary, one should strive to use the services of air carriers as often as possible. After some time, the fear will begin to weaken and then disappear altogether.
- Learn to lose. There is nothing wrong with a person admitting and accepting his defeat. This time he was out of work, but next time fortune will definitely smile on him.
- Expand your social circle. Establishing contacts with other people eliminates complexes and fears. A sociable person is always associated with courage.
- Don't be afraid to take risks. A person who never takes risks, as a rule, lives a boring and monotonous life. Strengthening character and courage often occurs when actions associated with increased production of adrenaline are performed. Extreme activities such as rock climbing and surfing are suitable for this purpose.
- Don't put things off for a long time. Nothing kills motivation more than endless promises of doing something next time. You need to act here and now, otherwise there may not be another chance to realize what you have planned in life. A brave person realizes his desires as soon as the opportunity looms before him.
- Praise yourself. Any action that results in victory over fear should be rewarded.
- Change your image. Confident people are not afraid of change. This applies not only to appearance, but also to life views.
It must be remembered that fear is a normal reaction to the surrounding reality, without which the human race could not survive. Being a daredevil who is not afraid to find himself in the midst of danger may be exciting, but it is extremely risky. Courage that does not go beyond common sense will help you become better and fill gray everyday life with bright colors.
What to avoid
To gain courage and self-confidence, follow three simple rules:
- Don't allow yourself to think about a bad outcome. This is not the case, such thoughts are unproductive.
- Don't think about past failures. These are the steps that will take you higher. Remember about 801 failed attempts. Failures are steps towards your dreams. One of the following steps will be successful.
- Don't listen to those who say you won't succeed. It's worth listening to the person. Ask why he thinks this way. If the arguments are valid, accept the information with gratitude and analyze it to avoid mistakes. You can do it.
Do not allow yourself to remain within the same framework where fears and anxieties drove you. Feel free to go beyond the limits. Break your own inhibitions to become different from within.
If it doesn't work right away, try again
You need to pump up your courage again and again, even if your attempts are not crowned with success.
Don't forget to praise yourself for not giving up, no matter how many times you try. It works like this: every time before we do something that scares us, we concentrate all our courage and take a step. In this way, we train our courage, and with each attempt this step will become easier until it brings the desired result.
Set realistic goals
To gain courage and achieve your goals with confidence, it is important to remain realistic by dreaming big. You need to draw up an action plan, breaking the global goal into several small and quite achievable ones. Break down your fear “piece by piece” and gradually cope with each of them.
For example, if you are afraid to go on rides, but still dream of doing it, you should not immediately go to the highest one that rotates around its axis. Such an adventure can only increase your fear and “discourage” all desire for such entertainment. Choose a smaller and simpler attraction to get used to the new sensations. After such a small step, you can explore higher structures, becoming bolder each time, and then conquer the biggest attraction you have dreamed of.
Learn simple meditation techniques
Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to how fitness is an approach to training the body. In the fight against fear, meditation also plays a big role: it helps to concentrate, calm down and understand why we are actually afraid of something.
We suggest trying these meditation techniques:
Concentration
Concentration meditation involves focusing your attention on one point. This may include following the breath, repeating a single word or mantra, paying close attention to a candle flame, or listening to a repeating gong. Since focusing the mind is difficult, you can start the practice with just a few minutes and then work up to a longer duration.
In this form of meditation, you refocus your awareness on a chosen object whenever you notice yourself getting distracted. Instead of chasing random thoughts, you simply let them go. Thanks to this, your ability to concentrate improves, and you can use it at the moment when you are afraid of something.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness meditation encourages you to observe your thoughts. The intention is not to actively reflect or think about how useful they are. The point is to be aware of each mental note as it arises.
When you meditate using mindfulness techniques, you can see how your thoughts and feelings tend to move in certain patterns. Over time, you will become more aware of your own tendency to quickly judge experiences as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. With this practice, inner balance develops, which is important for dealing with what frightens you.
Get to know yourself better
Set aside an evening for a heart-to-heart conversation with yourself.
Ask yourself questions that will help you understand yourself better: “What do I consider important?”, “What am I afraid of?”, “What do I want to achieve?” Record your answers on paper to get a complete picture of what causes your feelings and emotions. And then describe what you already have in order to become bolder. For example, a goal, a great desire, character traits, support, motivation. Also describe what you will need to become bolder. For example, you are afraid to communicate with people. You think it's important to overcome this fear because you want to make friends. Shyness and lack of experience prevent you from doing this. They need to be defeated: learn to be more open and assertive, and even interact with people more often.
When you describe such a “strategy” for dealing with fear, based on an analysis of your personality, it is much easier to achieve your goal.
Expand your social circle
If you are planning to become bolder, pay attention to your communication skills. It is noteworthy that brave and open people often have a wide circle of friends. They are not afraid to speak their mind. Those who have problems in this area will have to overcome themselves and start communicating.
Over time, you will notice that by expressing your own opinion, you become more confident in yourself, and there is nothing scary about communication itself. The main thing is to voice your point of view firmly. Once you practice enough, speaking to a stranger will no longer be a problem. Now you will not be shy, but will become talkative.
Change your look
According to psychologists, brave people are not afraid of any changes. Being conservative today is not accepted. Therefore, those who are interested in how to become bold can be recommended to change their image. You can start with your hairstyle and clothing style. If you feel comfortable in your new look, then you are on the right track. It is possible that you will encounter rejection of the new by those around you. However, these are not your problems, but the people who are accustomed to your old image. Do what you think is right and don’t follow the lead of others. Over time, they will get used to it, and you will notice that their attitude towards you will most likely improve for the better.
