Some people will say that to have courage is to have heart, and I don't disagree with that thought. But that doesn't address the fundamental concept of how courage/heart is obtained, especially in times of intense stress.
When I think of courage I think first of commitment. You have to be willing to commit your entire psyche to the task at hand -- your entire mind, your entire body, and even that intangible called your soul. Commitment means there is no room left for fear, uncertainty, and doubt. You haven't eliminated those snarly and sneaky derailing emotions, but you have pushed them to the side with your commitment. There is simply no room left for them in your current state of being.
How is this done?
When you wholly commit to something, you start by creating sparkling clarity of intent -- think of it as showing your mind what it is you want to achieve. Your subconscious mind deals with images and pictures best -- this is easily demonstrated by having a person walk in the room wearing a scowl or a big grin -- you know right away if that person is angry or happy with no conscious thought process.
To show your mind what it is you want to achieve, visualize it in your mind's eye with as much detail as you can muster. It also helps to verbalize your goal, using emotion. Emotions helps engage the rest of the senses, the nerves, and muscles into the vision. You may want to have a "power move" to engage your emotions along the right track -- this was a technique I learned in sales training. One of my favorite power moves is Rafa Nadal's leap with a fist pump. Every cell in his body is engaged!
I mentioned earlier the concept of "state of being". I hope now you can see that the commitment you have just made is engagement of your entire self. It's deep in your body's fibers and will not desert you. You can practice going into this state to make it easier to achieve in times of stress.
Are you willing to commit to your goals? When you do, it opens up a door to other life tools -- gives you a different perspective, reduces the mind's clutter, invites fulfillment to your journey.
