Finding Bravery During Bitterly Jarring Times

Finding courage is a feat. Microsteps can help.

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The dose of trauma at hand is a horse pill that can barely be swallowed, blocking our airways, hard to stomach, threatening our livelihood. Times are bitterly jarring. We’ve been force-fed heaping amounts of loss, pain, fear, and injustice.

Bravery can feel elusive in the face of such enormity. We wish for an antidote that matches the moment, to detoxify the poison being served at every turn.

Moments like now can feel paralytic. There is so much outside our locus of control. Issues seem grand, insurmountable, and fixed. But counteraction can come in micro-steps. Science shows us that small acts of courage are cumulative, helping us build momentum during bitterly jarring times, and creating a positive contagion effect.

Here’s one simple strategy to help you build cumulative courage:

Microdose Bravery

Courage isn’t built in one sitting. A microdosing approach to bravery simply means we take on small doses regularly to experience the beneficial therapeutic effects of facing life: resilience, greater connection, and being able to offer ourselves to the world.

Microdosing bravery can help us while we’re trying to learn new things, like leading teams, teaching students, parenting children, starting a business, and spearheading social change. It can help us become more comfortable with the uncomfortable, as in asking for help when we need it, admitting when we’re wrong, or acknowledging we have hurt someone. It can help us make a first move with a relationship interest, take a step towards pursuing a dream, or setting needed boundaries.

In our "go big or stay home" world, we’re ingrained to think demonstrating courage must be grandiose. Yet, courage is not always found in grand and dramatic gestures or jaw-dropping feats. It is the grassroots, unassuming brand of bravery that should not be underestimated. Microdoses add up.

If we resist the urge to bite off more than we can chew, we are more likely to sustain progress. We can become less apt to stay on the sidelines, not follow through, or fizzle out. Over time, we can continue to generate momentum to work through our fears and be equipped to grow and give with greater fervor.

Microdosing bravery can help keep us nourished during bitterly jarring times, when we are marinating in trauma and experiencing significant distress. It can help equip us to grow in ways that are not only personally nourishing, but beneficial for the world.

What small step can you take today?