I want to know how people define "courage," what it means, how it applies to decision making and life in general, and why you think your definition is unique. Please comment with your response or email me!
the existential definition of courage courtesy of wikipedia: "Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of non-being. It is the act of the individual self in taking the anxiety of non-being upon itself by affirming itself ... in the anxiety of guilt and condemnation. ... every courage to be has openly or covertly a religious root. For religion is the state of being grasped by the power of being itself."
Krista has no idea what that means, so this is Krista's definition: courage is finding truth, getting to know yourself in the context of that truth, and living in a way that reflects that. no matter what.
right. i only answered half the question didn't i? snap, dang.
well... when you know who you are and are willing to live according to what you know, making decisions is simple. life in general is simple. it's the decision to live that way that is the "courageous" part.
and my definition isn't unique in the mormon world. it's just... true.
courage is facing your life with a positive attitude. It's facing the hardest and sometimes scariest things that life throws at you and doing it with pride. My definition is unique because i made it up. lol.
I just couldn't resist defining a quasi-abstract concept...
So, my best guess would be that courage is a conscious decision to
a) believe that God always has a plan for us in any situation b) accept that the consequences of following that plan may bring any amount of pain or discomfort but will ultimately result in the best possible outcome for us and c) follow the plan as directed by the Spirit.
So it seems, at least to me, that maybe courage and faith are the same thing. Everything I can think of (right now anyway) that was ever done with/by faith could also be said to have been done with courage. It's been said by at least a few apostles/prophets that faith is the opposite of fear, but for most of the world courage would be the more natural word choice.
Anyway, given that I'm basically just stealing gospel principles, my definition isn't really unique, but hey, I gave it a shot!
In Orson Scott Card's book, Shadow of the Hedgemon, the main characters engage in a discussion about courage. Petra states about courage: "What matters is that you do not hide from the consequences, you bear what must be born."
Courage is the ability to look certain defeat/pain in the eye, and wrestle it anyway, just because it's better than embracing failure. Then you get up and do it again.
A lot of times, people are only willing to try a course of action that has a probable chance of success. We become so obsessed with seeking "success" that we often fail to acknowledge what we really want and pursue it.
Why is my definition unique? Other definitions are success and pain-avoidance oriented. Mine embraces the notion that courage means nothing if it can't willfully stand up to failure and even pain.
8 comments:
the existential definition of courage courtesy of wikipedia: "Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of non-being. It is the act of the individual self in taking the anxiety of non-being upon itself by affirming itself ... in the anxiety of guilt and condemnation. ... every courage to be has openly or covertly a religious root. For religion is the state of being grasped by the power of being itself."
Krista has no idea what that means, so this is Krista's definition: courage is finding truth, getting to know yourself in the context of that truth, and living in a way that reflects that. no matter what.
Krista apologizes for the cheesiness.
right. i only answered half the question didn't i? snap, dang.
well... when you know who you are and are willing to live according to what you know, making decisions is simple. life in general is simple. it's the decision to live that way that is the "courageous" part.
and my definition isn't unique in the mormon world. it's just... true.
"Courage is being scared to death, and then sattlin' up anyways."
- John Wayne
Thats all from me pilgrim, and if this definition ain't good enough for ya, I suggest you get outta dodge.
Courage is doing your job.
courage is facing your life with a positive attitude. It's facing the hardest and sometimes scariest things that life throws at you and doing it with pride. My definition is unique because i made it up. lol.
I just couldn't resist defining a quasi-abstract concept...
So, my best guess would be that courage is a conscious decision to
a) believe that God always has a plan for us in any situation
b) accept that the consequences of following that plan may bring any amount of pain or discomfort but will ultimately result in the best possible outcome for us and
c) follow the plan as directed by the Spirit.
So it seems, at least to me, that maybe courage and faith are the same thing. Everything I can think of (right now anyway) that was ever done with/by faith could also be said to have been done with courage. It's been said by at least a few apostles/prophets that faith is the opposite of fear, but for most of the world courage would be the more natural word choice.
Anyway, given that I'm basically just stealing gospel principles, my definition isn't really unique, but hey, I gave it a shot!
In Orson Scott Card's book, Shadow of the Hedgemon, the main characters engage in a discussion about courage. Petra states about courage: "What matters is that you do not hide from the consequences, you bear what must be born."
Courage is the ability to look certain defeat/pain in the eye, and wrestle it anyway, just because it's better than embracing failure. Then you get up and do it again.
A lot of times, people are only willing to try a course of action that has a probable chance of success. We become so obsessed with seeking "success" that we often fail to acknowledge what we really want and pursue it.
Why is my definition unique? Other definitions are success and pain-avoidance oriented. Mine embraces the notion that courage means nothing if it can't willfully stand up to failure and even pain.
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