[October 6, 2015] Who hasn’t thought of how they would act when their life is in danger or someone else’s life, like a family member, is in danger? Fear is a natural reaction to danger. Would we be frozen incapable of acting from fear? Would we run away? Writings on how to be brave are uncommon but often misleading.
“Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.” – Omar N. Bradley
Bravery, in this case, is defined as physical courage and that means doing the right thing even when you’re frightened. How to have moral courage, another form of bravery, will be discussed in a later blog post although there are some similarities.
Typically when we hear about bravery it involves someone risking their own life or health to rescue someone else from some tragic fate. We’ve all heard stories about brave soldiers, firemen, police officers, or just the average “Joe” (or “Jane”) overcoming their own fears of death to do something important. What do they have that others don’t have? What made them prepared for a brave act?
I quizzed several of my friends on what they thought was the key to bravery. What was possessed, I asked, by those who were brave that others didn’t have? Did they somehow prepare themselves? Were their brave actions even predictable?
What they had done to prepare themselves was somewhat accidental but made a big difference. In the military we know now from experience that bravery can be taught to some degree. This means some personal preparation and team work.
There were several commonalities in my friends’ answers. Most often, they noted, it is nearly impossible to predict who will be the bravest in a situation where lives are at risk. In combat the bravest were often those who did not necessarily perform well in other situations. They were not the best soldiers or the smartest. But they had showed themselves to be selfless and had a desire to help people.
Those that discussed their fears in advance on more than one occasion with their peers and expressed their concerns to others were more likely to show bravery. They also used repetitive positive thinking over time to convince themselves of what they would do. Those that had fully integrated into a functioning team were also more likely to show bravery. And those that were satisfied with their work and team members were more likely to show bravery.
This tells us that the more resilient a person is, the more likely they will act bravely in a critical situation. Using these techniques wisely will led to both better soldiers, better people in general, and when the situation arises where bravery is needed, someone will step up.
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TheLeaderMaker.com 5-part series on resilience:
- https://www.theleadermaker.com/mental-resilience-and-leadership-part-1/
- https://www.theleadermaker.com/mental-resilience-and-leadership-part-2/
- https://www.theleadermaker.com/mental-resilience-and-leadership-part-3/
- https://www.theleadermaker.com/mental-resilience-and-leadership-part-4/
- https://www.theleadermaker.com/mental-resilience-and-leadership-part-5/