Bravery, The Conclusion

All---

So, a little while ago, I posted about some of the things that I have been able to achieve by facing fear and beating it down.  Then, a couple days ago, I posted about some of the times I've faced my fears and still lost.  I want to post about the subject one last time.

I appreciate the kind words from everyone, but I want to stress this.  The point of all this hasn't been to tell stories about my life or to talk about how brave I am.  It's to make this point:

I'm just an ordinary person with physical, intellectual, and emotional strengths and weaknesses.  I'm not brave by nature.  And that's what I've learned.

No one is brave by nature.  Bravery isn't a lack of fear.  It's not an ability to compartmentalize fear.  It's not some adrenaline surge that helps you overcome fear.

I've experienced none of those.

Bravery is always a choice.  A choice to face the thing you're afraid of and act to despite it.  You will probably still be afraid the whole time you're doing it, but you keep going.

Generally, people don't have a choice about the fears they experience.

Generally, though, people do have a choice about how they respond to that fear.  There are biological factors that play into it, of course, but in the end there's almost always a choice: respect the fear or act despite it.

You can make the choice, too!

.Nevets.