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It Takes Courage to Embrace Challenges

Do you speak up when your gut tells you things need to change? 

It’s easy to stand behind decisions that everyone supports. As human beings, our natural tendency is to pick the path of least resistance. 

The “fear” of upsetting others used to hold me back. How about you? 

When we choose to avoid dealing with fearful situations instead of moving through them, we limit our potential.

Do you prefer to associate with colleagues who build your self-esteem or those who will challenge you to grow? 

It’s easier to hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them. 

It’s easier to seek out what is comfortable, instead of experiences that will stretch you. 

Choosing easy over hard is a fixed mindset. It’s comfortable. A fixed mindset is concerned about being judged, whereas a growth mindset concentrates on improving. 

Leaders are open and willing to embrace the challenging path. 

Teams that move from good to great are guided by leaders who have a growth mindset. They don’t obsess over what is holding them and their team back. Instead, they ask: “How much better can things become?” 

The challenging path represents a growth mindset. 

People with a growth mindset are open to learning something new. They embrace the unknown, even when the unknown feels scary and uncomfortable.

It takes courage to:

  • break from the norm, 
  • challenge the status quo 
  • make tough decisions
  • listen rather than speak
  • admit your faults
  • forgive others
  • not allow failure to dampen your spirit
  • stand for those not capable of standing for themselves
  • remain true to your core beliefs

Courage is the mark of leadership. It is having the strength of conviction to do the right thing when it would be easier to do what is comfortable.

Courage isn’t about moving forward in the absence of fear, but instead finding the strength to move ahead in the presence of fear. 

The deepest lessons I’ve learned over the years didn’t come in times of ease. My greatest growth happened when I stretched myself beyond my desire to be comfortable. 

What are you doing to stretch yourself?

I encourage you to tune into this week’s episode of the Getting Results Podcast E76: Choosing a Growth Mindset. This is the last in a six part series on leadership effectiveness.

Check it out: It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Spotify, and others.

If you missed any of the previous episodes, you can catch up on those here: