7 Habits of Brave People
7 Habits of Brave People
What makes people brave? How can we learn from brave people so we, too, can be brave?
There are seven things that brave people have in common.
CONFIDENCE
Courageous people know who they are at their core. They don’t let others’ critiques sway them or follow trends that would try to squeeze them into a box.
When you know deep down who you are and what you were created to do, you have greater bravery and motivation to live that out.
When you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were created to produce music to inspire, or help raise the next generation of children, or show other entrepreneurs how to grow their businesses, you can stand taller, talk more confidently about your work, and share what you’re doing without feeling like you’re patting yourself on the back.
2. FOCUS
Brave people are focused. They’re not scatterbrained or trying to make waves in every lake.
If we want to take bold action and bravely move forward in our lives, we need to be focused. It makes the difference between going wide and going deep.
When we live and work without focus, we make very little impact and inhibit our ability to be bold because we’re stretching ourselves too thin and investing in too many things.
Bravery and boldness require that we take a stand for something, pursue something with reckless abandon, and show up as ourselves. We can’t do those things if we don’t know who we are or what we’re about.
Before we can live lives characterized by boldness, we have to take the time to consider who we are, what we want to be known for, and how we want to invest our time, energy, and resources.
If you’re not investing your time the way you want to be (we’ve all been there!), grab your free Time Tracker Tool and start taking back your time right now!
3. PURPOSE
Brave people know their purpose. They don’t just go around meddling in everything or trying to be an advocate for everyone.
People who live courageous lives know what their thing is. They know what their skills, gifts, and passions are, and they follow them, contributing whatever they can and going all in on those things. But they don’t try to go all in on everything (see the focus section above).
Purpose is what fuels our actions, motivating us to invest fully in the things that capture our hearts, lending meaning and significance to our lives and our work.
My purpose, for instance, is to serve others with the gifts God has given me— organization, communication, community, and encouragement. I coach female dreamers to simplify their lives, homes, and businesses so they can have abundant, wholehearted lives, homes, and work they love. I care about helping others, too, and about other topics and subjects, but I simply can’t invest in them all.
4. SUPPORT & COMMUNITY
Community and support are other huge pillars surrounding brave, courageous living.
We all need the support and encouragement of others in our lives. This world is just too hard and unpredictable to weather alone.
Brave people make the most of community, leading others and being led themselves. They’re not afraid to ask for help when they need it, recruit people to their team for help and solidarity, and gather people together to support their cause or project.
Brave people know that we’re all better together, and they take that lesson to heart, welcoming others into what they’re doing so that others, too, can live bold lives and make a difference, no matter how small.
5. INTROSPECTION/REFLECTION/QUIET TIME
We often think of brave people as the ones leading the charge, speaking to crowds, and showing up all over the internet with polarizing things to say.
While those things are true, they’re not the full extent of a brave life.
Living courageously also requires introspection.
Without taking time to reflect and pay attention to what’s going on in our hearts, the way God’s moving and stirring in us, and what our next steps are, we’ll likely burn out or get lost in our work because we’ve lost sight of the vision behind it.
Without taking breaks and being quiet and still, we’d run the risk of veering off in a direction that’s not the best or getting too far ahead or saying “yes” when “no” would have been more fulfilling.
Because our beliefs and thoughts determine our actions, we need to regularly set aside time away from the crowd, noise, and busyness to pay attention to what’s going on inside so we can bravely follow it.
6. HUMILITY
Brave people take chances and stand up for what they believe in, but they’re also able to admit their mistakes and when they’ve been wrong.
Courageous people aren’t shy to share what they believe in and stand for, but they know they don’t have all the answers, and they aren’t afraid to say so.
Leaders have to take bold action and make brave calls, whether they’re leading on the battlefield or in the boardroom or in their homes. But they also have to be able to call in reinforcements and seek the wisdom of others when they’re out of their depth.
We can do the same, being courageous in living out what we believe and being ourselves without worrying about what others might say or think. But we can also be humble enough to admit we always have room to grow and learn and turn to others for support.
7. EMPOWERMENT
Bravery begets bravery.
When others are brave and encourage us to be brave, we feel more capable of bravery ourselves.
Bold people aren’t bold just for the sake of being bold (or at least, the very best aren’t).
Leaders and courageous people empower others with that same courage and boldness to step up and do their thing. They don’t squash the enthusiasm or individuality of people; they draw it out, encourage it, and help it grow.
One of the best ways to start empowering others is to live bravely in the first place because it sets an example of bold living and implicitly gives others permission to follow suit.
How can YOU be brave today? Do you need to be humble, gain confidence, figure out your purpose, refocus, spend some time in reflection, find community, or empower others? Let me know in the comments!
And if you’re looking for community, check out The Simple Joy Community, where we talk about how to live and work with simplicity, joy, and intention so we can do more of what we love and less of what we don’t!
