Courage to Power

Better with Desiree
Jul 27, 2020
2 min read

Updated: Jul 31, 2020

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because, without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.”

― Maya Angelou

Maya says a lot in this statement. Courage can move you from one place to another. Courage can help define your path and cause you pain. As I think about some of the decisions I made base on courage, I can see many patterns that gave me joy and pain.

One of my many patterns was making decisions based on emotions.

I can recall making a decision to go back to school. All I knew at that time that needed to go back to college to get a degree. You might say that sounds reasonable, It does, but it was not a thought out plan. I was married at that time and had 1 daughter. I decided that going back to school was the right thing. However, I was not sure of a career at that time. I did not research many colleges or universities, so I went to a small college, Delta College. I started attending with the goal to get an associate degree in accounting. The decision was emotional because it was based on getting a degree quickly and getting a better paying job. The decision cost me money, time, and direction.

In my life, I have made any decisions based on emotions. It was not until I reached 50 that I started taking the emotions out of my decision making and using that the next day rule.

The next day rule is "If I felt the same way tomorrow then I make the purchase or decision.

I realized that the waiting period gives me time to sleep on it and look at it with a clear mind.

I started this post about courage. Courage to acknowledge your weakness is Power.