I am working on developing the activities pages for our upcoming Animals Building Character coloring and activities book. It is taking longer than expected because I want them to be child-friendly but not superficial.
In the process of exploring the virtue of courage, I came across an interesting distinction between being brave and being courageous. At least according to one source, a brave person is a person who does not feel afraid in situations that would frighten other people. A courageous person, on the other hand, is someone who feels t
he fear, but chooses to take action anyway.
This distinction led me to wonder how we go from being afraid to being courageous to becoming truly brave. Courage, I realized, requires us to focus on the goal or positive benefits of taking action. When our love of what we will gain outweighs the fear of what we might lose, then we can take action.
Here is how I described it in kid-friendly terms:
How to Develop Courage:
Imagine you are standing at the end of a diving board for the first time. How do you find the courage to jump? The first thing to do is focus on the benefits of overcoming your fear. You will become a better swimmer. You will have more fun at the pool with your friends. You will learn a new skill. As you focus on the benefits, your courage will increase. At the same time, look for a reason to trust that you will be OK. Is there a lifeguard? Have other kids survived? Have you done similar things and enjoyed them? Trust will reduce your fear, making you more brave. When the benefits outweigh the fear in your mind, then you will have the courage to jump.
Once you have tried it once, then you can gain two other tools to reduce fear: Experience and Education. Every time you do something, you gain experience and you learn more about how to do it better. With Experience, Education and Trust, your fear can eventually disappear completely and you will discover that you are Brave!
This same approach can be used for other things you are afraid of: Speaking in class, expressing your opinion, trying a new food or risking failure at a new skill.
Remember: Never do something dangerous on a dare. Impressing your friends is not a benefit. True friends do not want you to risk hurting yourself.