[Small acts of courage add up over time.]

My spiritual life coach, Lauren, stopped me in my tracks during a recent session when she said, “If people exercised their courage muscles more, there wouldn’t be so much fear in the world.” I already understood how physical muscles tend to atrophy when they’re not used often enough, but the idea of emotional and spiritual “muscles” was a new one to me and I wanted to explore the idea some more.

“You know that the more we practice something, the easier it becomes and the more familiar it feels,” she said. “Courage is kind of like jogging… you might not always feel like it, but if you don’t make yourself do it, pretty soon it’s a lapsed exercise and you get flabby and out of condition.” Well, I could relate to that, so I promised her I would take inventory of my own courage conditioning before our next session.

When I started thinking about it, I became aware that there are so many ways in which we can practice courage and we each have a different perspective on what “being courageous” represents to us. I know many people who find public speaking a snap. For an introvert like me, however, it takes an act of courage to speak in front of a group of people… though I know my work requires this.

When I began taking my “courage inventory,” I realized that I tend to flex my courage muscles in small ways at first – breaking them in, as it were, especially when faced with some new daunting “obstacle” like making a speech. Putting my name and picture on a very public article is a step I’ve already taken. Another is preparing to teach teleclasses, in which I’m leading a group over the phone but – thank the heavens – they can’t actually see me. It’s almost like public speaking, but without the anxiety.

The next step is teaching a small group in person, where I’m visible to my audience and definitely “on the spot.” After that, giving a speech in front of a larger audience isn’t such a big deal because I built up my courage muscles bit by bit along the way. If I hadn’t taken those small steps first, however, I’d still be saying “no” to a number of good business opportunities – just because of fear.

I realized, too, that there were many times when I did flex my bravery biceps, even though my inner worrywart was waving red flags in my face.

For example, a few years ago, I managed to hurdle over all the “what-ifs” attached to buying a home as a single mother. It may not seem like much, but making that decision to sign on the dotted line definitely took an act of courage. Barbara 1; Worrywart zip.

Going into business for myself was another leap of courage but I realized, in retrospect, that I’d been working at this courage thing for awhile and I noticed that the inner worrywart was becoming more of an inner butterfly.

Speaking my truth on a “public” website became easy after a couple of years’ “toning and conditioning” while I found my voice and my message. The next step will be to break new ground altogether, something that would never have occurred to me (in a million years), before I started building up my courage muscles.

Looking back, I recognize that I “coulda shoulda” started paying attention much earlier to my courage training. But I grew up in a time when girls wore skirts, mothers stayed home and the roles and expectations of women were pretty well defined. The major self-help books of the day were on make-up, hair-dos and how to catch a man.

Today, I revel in the “courage fitness” resources we have so easily at hand – books, classes, visualization techniques, coaches, PBS specials – all encouraging us to flex and strengthen our courage muscles in whatever areas we wish to pursue. The heebie-jeebies from our early childhood no longer need to inhibit us from going after our dreams.

Of course, we can remain emotional wallflowers and mental milquetoasts if we choose, by not ever stepping past our comfort zones, by staying stuck in the ways we’re familiar with. We can remain friends with our inner worrywarts and let our courage muscles get stringy and flat. For many of us, it takes a medical crisis to get our attention about diet and exercise; and it often takes an unexpected life crisis or fork in the road to remind us to start exerting our courage. Sometimes we have to take a giant leap through our comfort levels and, if we haven’t been practicing small acts of courage all along, the effort can either “make us or break us.”

Some of us rise to the occasion and release dozens of fears in a short span of time, just handling what needs to be done. We’ve all seen this in situations of divorce, bereavement or downsizing. We’ve all seen the other side of the coin, too, where the person can’t face the realities of the new situation and shrivels into himself or herself, literally and figuratively.

The best visualization books all tell us to picture the desired outcome if we want to realize our dreams, whether it be a new business or a soul-mate relationship. I would add to this formula the need to start flexing our courage muscles in the form of small action steps that move us toward our goal. Seeing it is one thing. Having the courage to move toward our dreams is what will actually get us there. As my coach Lauren says, “Take baby steps often.” It only takes one to get the ball rolling.

Barbara Casey is a marketing consultant for lightworkers and author of Marketing with a Mission, a niche marketing course for home-based business owners. (727) 397-2702. – www.newradiance.com