Being Courageous - 1 Inspirational and Actionable Quote That Changed My Life
“Sometimes, all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, just literally 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery, and I promise you something great will come of it.” - We Bought a Zoo
I discovered this quote in high school. At the time, I was so shy I would literally not say a word to anyone. (OK, I did have 1 friend at school, but I still felt like I had failed because I wanted to be popular!)
Instead of creating friendships in person, I escaped to the internet. I ran an inspirational Tumblr blog in hopes of making some small difference in the world. After all, if I couldn’t share my true self with those physically around me, at least I could share it with internet strangers who I would never interact with, right?
I started out small by creating my own edits with inspirational quotes and getting a maximum of 10 notes per post (a note is like a combination of likes and shares on Facebook).
Over the course of 3 years, I ended up having over 3000 active followers.
I was a part of a vast community of other inspirational bloggers helping teenagers through all sorts of challenges, anything from how to talk to a crush to navigating depression (don’t worry, I always recommended to see a professional when needed).
Then I came across this quote about having 20 seconds of courage. At first, I thought it was just another great quote to reblog.
But then I did a double-take.
I was pouring all of my energy into helping other people out of their ruts. And yet, I could not spend even 20 seconds being courageous enough to get out of my own rut.
I felt like a hypocrite.
But it was also scary to change.
All of the self-doubt crept in:
If I put myself out there, I could say something wrong and then I’d be ostracised.
And if I don’t know what to say, I’d just stand there, looking like an idiot.
Either way, what if I put myself out there and people don’t like me?
But at that time, I was almost halfway through high school. I did not want to miss out on any more experiences than I already had.
On top of that, I knew I wanted to be a role model to those who followed me, not a hypocrite.
That is when I decided to take charge and change my life, 20 courageous seconds at a time.
Yes, it was scary.
I knew that if I did not take action, if I kept being too scared to talk to people, I would keep being friendless.
On the other hand, if I changed my actions, even just for 20 seconds at a time, something about my reality would change too. And at the time, anything was better than feeling lonely in a crowded high school hallway.
So, I started small.
Instead of keeping to myself and my journal, I spent 20 seconds waving to people that passed by me in the hallway.
Instead of cowering away from large groups of students, I would give myself 20 seconds to insert myself into the circle.
Instead of overthinking what to say, I decided to simply say what was on my mind for 20 seconds.
With every 20 seconds, I took 1 action that got me closer to what I wanted: human connection with students at my high school.
Before I knew it, my reality did change, for the better!
Overtime, I made some actual friends, the ones that wanted to hang out with me after school.
People started waving to me in the hallway.
I even noticed myself walking more confidently.
And I realized that all the worries and concerns I had were all in my head.
The narrative I was telling myself was blowing things way out of proportion.
Yes, there were times I said the wrong thing. No one ostracized me for making a mistake.
Yes, there were times I didn’t have anything to say. No one thought I looked like an idiot.
Yes, I did put myself out there, and people liked my bubbly, energetic personality.
And some people didn’t like me.
And that was OK.
I realized that I didn’t need everyone to like me in order to not feel lonely anymore. All I needed was a handful of confidants who accepted me for who I was.
Slowly, I used these 20 seconds of courage to share my personal story with others in hopes of inspiring others to act.
I shared my story in the form of slam poetry, mostly because I loved how emotionally raw slam poetry can be.
I added my personal story with my followers on Tumblr.
Soon enough, I was sharing my stories in TEDx talks to over 200 people.
It was incredibly scary to share personal stories to any audience because of the feeling of vulnerability.
I felt vulnerable to other people’s judgement.
But I kept in mind that the reason I was doing this is because I wanted to be a role model and inspiration. And not everyone would like me, and that was OK.
I became more scared of what might happen if I didn’t take action than what might happen if I did.
Because when I did not take action, I was left with the status quo.
And being stuck in an unfulfilling status quo led to regret, escape from reality, and feeling limited.
But with action, especially scary courageous action, I had the power to change my status quo into a better life.
And I felt empowered.
And I still love that feeling of empowerment in my own ability to change my life.
I learned to love the 20 seconds of courage because of the opportunities they brought.
Even as an adult, I whip myself into action 20 seconds at a time.
Like clicking send on an important email.
Or reaching out to someone I had always wanted to meet.
Or hitting publish on a new blog post.
But in all of these instances, it starts with courage.
Courage leads to action, which leads to opportunities, which leads to confidence.
In high school, courage led to the action of putting myself out there, which resulted in the opportunity to make friendships, which led to increasing my self-confidence.
As an adult, this process has helped me in aspects of my professional life:
As a networker: Courage led me to taking the action of reaching out to a family friend about internship opportunities, resulting in a marketing internship opportunity, which increased my confidence in interpersonal relationship building.
As a team player: Courage led to the action of speaking up during meetings, even when I was not sure if I would contribute value, which led to recognition and the opportunity to take on more responsibility, which increased my confidence in my own ideas.
As an entrepreneur: Courage led me to tell friends, family, and Facebook that I am pursuing starting my own coaching business, resulting in people asking me about my services and how to keep up, which increased my confidence as a business owner.
Where will 20 seconds of courage take you?
My challenge to you is to do something courageous for 20 seconds today, whether you need to reach out to that person in your network, initiate that hard conversation, or talk to that new neighbor.
Do anything else that feels uncomfortable for you.
Yes, it is scary.
But, if you do not take action, nothing will change.
If you do take action, for just 20 seconds, well, something GREAT might just come of it!
What will you do with 20 seconds of courage? Post a comment and let me know what action you will take!
