We all have stuff going on, and we all have issues and trauma from our past that seem to creep up throughout our lives, and we don’t realize how it’s holding us back; especially with reaching our highest potential. There’s all this heavy weight of old stories of stupid stuff you did in high school or how you were treated when you were a kid, or the way people talked to you or treated you when you were a younger adult or in a professional environment…but today you’re in a different place. Yes, the world is in chaos, but to be light on your feet and to live your highest potential, you’re going to need to do some difficult work and get outside your comfort zone.

It’s so easy to stay in your comfort zone, in that place where everything is familiar and comfortable. But what good does that do for you if you want to reach your highest potential? How will being in your comfort zone help you achieve your goals? What’s your story when you’re on your death bed and reflecting on your life? Will you say that you honored the struggles in your life and made bold choices? Or will you say, I wish I would have done more?

Honoring your struggles:

When you honor your struggles and fail forward, you give yourself peace, forgiveness, and respect. Truthfully speaking, I hope you fail. Because failing means you’re trying, you’re going for something. If you’ve never experienced failure, or rejection, or judgment, you’re aiming too low for your potential. It’s ok that some people think you’re crazy, it’s ok to sometimes think at the end of the day you say, “what a friggin’ hot mess that was today…”, but you’re going for it! You don’t have to be perfect, you will fail, but you’ll fail forward. The point is to move the needle forward, and for that to happen, it’s going to make a little bit of a mess. Sometimes it’s going to make a mess in your relationships, career, team, in your business, in how you operate every day…sometimes we have to have a little bit of a mess. The mess allows us to clean up and re-organize, and sometimes we need that mess to see what really matters.

So, this article is about how we’re going leverage the courage within us to mess up some stuff in our lives today.

Let’s talk about courage:

According to Oxford’s English dictionary, courage is defined as the ability to do something that frightens oneself; finding strength in the face of pain, grief, or adversity.

Being courageous allows you to step outside your comfort zone and face your fears head-on, enabling you to unlock your full potential and achieve extraordinary accomplishments. By embracing courage, you transcend limitations, seize opportunities, and navigate challenges with resilience, ultimately realizing your highest aspirations and leaving an indelible mark on the world. Being intentionally courageous is a lifelong practice. By consistently changing yourself, pushing boundaries, getting uncomfortable, you will progressively expand your capabilities and unlock the limitless potential within you. So here are ten steps I learned to help me be more courageous. Remember, this is a lifelong process. So, keep going and create the awareness to be intentional with getting outside your comfort zone. You can do this!

10 Steps to live a courageous life:

· Let go of old baggage. Release emotional burdens, past traumas, or negative experiences that weigh us down and hinder personal growth. This involves having the self-awareness to free yourself from the emotional attachments and limitations caused by these experiences, allowing for greater emotional well-being, resilience, and the ability to move forward with a lighter and more positive outlook on life.

· Be the world’s BEST. This means striving for excellence and unparalleled mastery with whatever you do and with your goal attainment. This means dedicate yourself to continuous improvement, pushing boundaries, and surpassing expectations to achieve the highest level of skill, innovation, and success in your pursuit. Create that relentless commitment to outperforming others and setting new standards, establishing yourself as a leader and benchmark in your respective domain. Be the world’s best at whatever you’re doing! This is where exploring and getting out of your comfort zone starts.

· Ask for people’s brave stories. No one talks about the brave things people do. People complain instead of talking about the heroic brave ass things that are happening in their lives. People don’t do this because they feel like they’re bragging. Ask more people about their successes, their courage, and their high-performance habits. “Hey, you’re awesome, what do you do to be awesome?” “You’ve had a lot of success, what did you do?” “You seem like you’re on a roll, what’s working for you right now?” What are things you’ve done to cope recently?” Celebrating small/big wins are all part of this process.

· Set self-talk triggers. These are things that help to reset your mindset throughout the day. For example, I set my alarm in my calendar 3 times a day with inspiring words. That reminds me to not go through the motions and take a moment to be present and see the big picture. Another self-talk trigger I learned is every time I walk through a door-I take a moment to think that as I enter this room, I will enter, check myself, and remind myself to reset my mind as a happy person. Speak well of yourself during this process.

· Get in proximity to your fears. It’s easy to not be courageous because fear is that nagging voice telling you things you can’t do. Get near your fears, stare them in the face, flick ‘em in the nose, and be courageous. Be with the fear and do the thing you’re fearful of over and over again. If you’re scared of public speaking, then get on a stage and start speaking. And keep repeating this practice. Repetition knocks out the fears…keep repeating and you’ll become familiar, and you’ll eliminate the fear and develop competence as you keep practicing. With competence comes confidence, and confidence is where success is found. Competence happens when you are courageous to face your fears head on, practice them, and keep repeating until you’ve mastered and eliminated the fear.

· Gang up on your fears. The more the merrier and collaboration is key! Seek support, guidance, and encouragement from others to collectively confront and conquer your fears. Reach out to people you trust, who can provide emotional support, practical advice, or shared experiences to help you overcome your fears more effectively. By collaborating with other people, you form a supportive network or team that acts as a unified force, providing strength, motivation, and accountability as you collectively work towards facing and conquering your fears together. Flick ‘em in the nose together and don’t let them bully you!

· Do something bold every single day. Have a morning journal to set your mindset and goals for the day. Ask yourself every morning: What’s a simple bold action I can take today? Reflect on your goals, dig deep to identify a bold action that challenges you, write it down clearly in your journal, plan and prepare how you’re going to act on this bold move and be determined. Reflect on your experience and write it down in your journal and repeat the process daily.

· Integrate your big moves & wins into your identity. Our successes become our state of mind. Create and write your wins and success list. Big moves and big decisions and big wins of your life. And it’s going to be more than one page long. Write all the little things we don’t give ourselves credit for. Those little wins fill your cup, and with your identity will come an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Give yourself credit with trying to get better. Take those baby steps and celebrate each step you take! Celebrate your successes-even the little things and integrate the successes as you reflect on your week in your journal (I usually do this on Sundays).

· Stop apologizing and GO. Remove apologetic language from your communication. Be direct in your requests and actions in life. Your verbiage represents your strong and confident self. Stand tall, be proud even when it’s not comfortable. Hold yourself like a courageous person. Stop using words that minimize who you are. Show up with strength and speak with strength to who you are. Show up strong and give yourself permission and start TODAY.

· You have to earn the future you dream of. Honor the struggle. Earn your lot in life. People feel entitled and think their life will just happen to them. You won’t get that future unless you earn it. Don’t expect it. You’ve got to earn the thing. You don’t deserve a phenomenal marriage, you’re not entitled, you earn it. You’re not given a paycheck; you earn the paycheck. Earning and working hard builds drive and for some grit. When you will your future it into existence, not hoping it’ll pop up into reality, you’ll develop a fierceness and warrior status that build within you. There’s a positive mindset shift when you go and earn it. Show up strong and free and earn it.

It's going to take bravery:

To practice courageousness and to get outside of your comfort zone, will take bravery and change on your part. Say to yourself “I want to be brave” and “I want to take risks and get outside of my comfort zone”. I always say that life is short, and as humans we’re all on this life journey together, and each of us is on our own path to the same destination. I also know that I don’t want to stumble into my grave saying that I wasn’t brave enough to be courageous and make changes to get outside my comfort zone. Each of us has our life, and we can’t trade it in for another life. It’s all each of us has. Be intentional and take those risks, be bold, be courageous, be brave and earn that thing you want – you can do it.