Lost & Found Courage
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Lost & Found Courage
At the beginning of October I had the opportunity to talk about courage at the “We Tech Together Conference” organised by TechFace.ch. “The conference brings together female tech communities to empower, engage and celebrate women in tech.”
My aim was to raise awareness around the power of courage among the girls in Tech. My main message to them was to consider the relationship between change, its consequences, fear and courage. While change gives us the opportunity to grow, it is also mostly connected with fear and uncertainty. Why? Simply because it forces us out of our comfort zone. This is where fear and taking risks come into play and this is why we need courage to make change happen. Courage turns decisions into actions and empowers us to create chances and new opportunities for ourselves.
It was so inspiring to talk to participants about their experience with regard to courage. To see which chances and opportunities they were able to create for themselves thanks to their courage (Found courage), but also which chances and opportunities they had missed due to their lack of courage (Lost courage). We can always learn from the outcomes where “Lost courage” comes in to play and draw on this knowledge for the future.
Here are some examples of Lost & Found courage that was shared by the participants at the conference. To inspire you even more, I have added a relevant courage quote to each experience:
“Each year I challenge myself to do something that takes me out of my comfort zone.” Courage is to challenge yourself again and again.
“I missed the chance to communicate to people I loved that I love them.” Courage is to show emotions.
“Saying NO to others.” Courage is to say NO.
“I am too shy to ask questions or to bring my ideas in big meetings.” Courage is to ask questions and to submit your ideas regardless of who is present.
“I took the lead and planned how to advance my career .” Courage is to drive your career path your way.
“I created my own business.” Courage is to believe in yourself and do what you love.
“I started to accept more opportunities, which scare me.” Courage is to go for it despite fear.
“Courage is contagious!” – Absolutely!
“I started a new job, but did not challenge the salary offer.” – Courage is not to sell yourself short.
“I chose two very interesting, but difficult topics to research.” Courage is to learn and grow outside your comfort zone.
“I had the courage to write my Master thesis and work 80 % despite everyone telling me it was not possible.” Courage is to pursue your goals without having the consent of others.
I could go on like this as there were so many inspiring experiences. Awesome!
Many thanks to all of those who shared their experiences with us.
My final quote is one of my favourites by Ronnie Amsler, NLP Master & Trainer (NLP Institut Zurich):
“Courage is the empowering emotion turning decisions into actions.”
With this in mind don’t wait for others to allow you to live and work courageously. Courage is a free resource available to all of us. So just go for it…
Too challenging? You are not alone! We have created Takethecourage.com exactly for the purpose of enabling you to become more courageous together with us. Get in touch with me to start the courage work: Contact