Courage Over Comfort

October 26, 2025

Reflect

When Brené Brown gave her first TED Talk on vulnerability, she thought it might reach a few hundred people. She had spent years researching shame, connection, and courage, but sharing her own story publicly felt terrifying.

She stood on that stage in Houston, hands shaking, voice catching, and said words that cracked open something deeper:

“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”

The talk went viral, reaching millions of people. Instead of feeling proud, she panicked. Overnight, she became the “vulnerability expert,” but inside she felt exposed and afraid.

She later admitted she wanted to take the video down. But she didn’t. She stayed open when fear told her to close off.

What happened next changed her life and ours. Her message began reaching leaders, classrooms, and communities around the world. People started using words like empathy, belonging, and resilience in boardrooms instead of therapy rooms.

That is the paradox of courage. It rarely feels like strength in the moment. It feels like risk, discomfort, and not knowing what comes next. Yet on the other side of that uncertainty are connection, creativity, and growth.

Courage and comfort rarely coexist. When we choose courage, we grow into the person our dreams have been waiting for.

Implement

This week, notice where comfort might be holding you back.

Ask yourself:
• Where am I choosing certainty over possibility?
• What single act of courage could open the door to growth?

Courage doesn’t need a spotlight. It begins in quiet moments — speaking honestly, asking for help, or sharing an idea before it feels perfect.

Strengthen

In her work, Brené refers to Theodore Roosevelt’s 1910 speech, “The Man in the Arena.”

It reminds us that courage isn’t about being polished or prepared. It’s about being present and willing to try, even when success is uncertain.

Roosevelt wrote:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again...

Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.”

That passage inspired Brené’s research and her reminder that courage never guarantees success. It guarantees that we are in the arena, we are learning, leading, and living with heart.

Watch: Choose Courage Over Comfort — Brené Brown (3 min)
A short and powerful clip from Dare to Lead that captures what it means to choose bravery when ease would be simpler.

Read: “The Man in the Arena” — Theodore Roosevelt (1910)
A timeless reminder that effort matters more than perfection.

Courage doesn’t require perfection. It simply asks that we get in the arena..

Elevate

Dreams have their own rhythm. Sometimes they rest until we are strong enough, wise enough, or ready to carry them forward.

Age, timing, or circumstance are never disqualifiers. They are teachers that prepare us to begin again with greater depth and clarity.

Whether you are leading, creating, or beginning again, remember this:

Belief starts the motion.
Action builds the rhythm.
Momentum carries it forward.

Momentum Insight

Now that you’ve thought about what dream or goal you’ve quietly set aside and identified one small way to move toward it, let’s take it a step further.

Ask AI to act as your creative thought partner to help you turn reflection into motion:

“Help me design one practical way to bring my long-held dream or goal to life this week. Show me how to make progress that feels aligned and achievable.”

Use it as a space to explore possibilities, map the next move, or surface new ways of thinking. Sometimes an outside perspective or thinking outside of the box, helps us see what’s been waiting in plain sight.

Because once momentum begins, clarity grows, confidence builds, and possibility expands.

Next week: Courage over comfort. Staying open enough to grow when everything in you wants to play it safe.

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