It’s never easy to try something new. To show up differently. To ask. To set a boundary. To make a decision. To express how we feel. To change our mind. To live according to our values. To pitch an idea. To develop a new skill. To hold a vision of what’s possible and work towards it. To dance with the vulnerability of risk, uncertainty and emotional exposure.

It takes courage. Leading our lives takes courage. And courage is a lifelong, evolving practice.

Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage. – Maya Angelou

For me, a telltale sign of avoiding the vulnerability of courage is when I overthink, delay making a decision, get lost in distractions or numb out (hello endless scrolling and Netflix binging).

Then I think about all the research on regret, and the conversation Brené Brown had with Dan Pink on the Dare To Lead™ podcast early last year:

One of the most robust findings, in the academic research and my own, is that over time we are much more likely to regret the chances we didn’t take than the chances we did. ― Daniel H. Pink, The Power of Regret

Our lives are forged in the chances we take, the decisions we make and the places we show up and let ourselves be seen in. Standing outside the arena doors wondering ‘what if?‘ is hard, but not as hard as living a life trying to outrun vulnerability.

Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage. – Brené Brown, Rising Strong

Whatever you’re trying this week, I’m with you. Here’s to daring to get into the arena of our lives, our dreams, our creativity, our purpose, our values, our care, and our whole wild hearts.