Acts of Micro Bravery Can Change You
Find the courage to do one small thing you couldn’t do yesterday.
I read an article on Micro Bravery. This concept caught my attention.
For most of my life, I was the person who stood in the background. Background to my successful husband, my extended family, even those in my circle of friends. As the fifth child in a family of six kids, I just wanted to fit in. I was such a people pleaser that at one point I wondered, “who am I?” I hadn’t lost touch with me, I never knew me. I played the music my peer group liked, I dressed how women did in my church, and I basically made sure that I did what others would approve of. I had become what everyone else wanted of me.
Have you ever felt like you have lost yourself? Who are you, really? Are you a product of others’ opinions or are you uniquely you? Do you let others see who you are? Psychologists call what I based my life on, “other esteem.” A fragile way to think about yourself.
It took small acts of micro bravery to learn who I was. I started this journey after a painful divorce. Suddenly I had to make decisions that affected the future course of my entire life. Until this time, I deferred to my husband. I even remember saying one time, “I can’t make a decision right now. Would you make it for me?” When I look back at the woman I was then, I call that woman a wimp! Geez, how far had I lowered my own esteem to not be able to make choices for myself? It took me being forced into taking many acts of micro bravery and courage to be myself.
If you relate to this here’s how to begin to be you. Small acts of micro bravery. This could be speaking up when someone states something you don’t believe. It doesn’t have to be a big ordeal. You can just say, “I respect that you believe that way and I am not interested in a long discussion about it, but I believe …” Speak up. Find your voice in small micro ways. Practice this when you’re about to meet someone who is very opinionated. Then take a micro step to express yourself in those moments. These small acts of courage and bravery helped me grow into a strong person.
What kind of music do you like? What would you wear even when knowing others wouldn’t wear it? What could you say if the waiter brings food that’s not what you ordered? Take a micro step in that direction today.
Finally, being brave takes practice. You can think of it like a muscle that you need to work out. Like lifting weights at the gym, it’s not something that just happens overnight, it is something that needs to be built up over time and continually practiced to get better at it. If you are brave in the small moments, they will all add up, so that you can be brave when it really counts.
I’ve spoken in front of large audiences, purchased and sold several homes, started a business, and expressed to others my opinions when theirs were diametrically opposed to mine. It starts with micro acts of bravery. Chances are, some of those micro acts have presented themselves to you. Next time, take note of them, and do one small act…step out and use your courage or your voice. Remember, these are micro steps. Day by day, small micro changes that show you have self esteem. In doing so, you will find and fall in love with you.
