What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?
I asked this question last week and was flooded with hundreds of great responses.
Here are many of them, with links to the people who were brave enough to share. (All of these comments were shared publicly, and there are also 80+ responses on our Facebook page.)
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ferolea: Quiting my job go around the world was easy. Coming back… that’s the bravest I’ve been.
coffeeshopchat: I saved a drowning boy when I wasn’t much older than he. Was I brave? No, but others thought otherwise. I just did.
abbysname: Moved to Saudi Arabia as a woman.
avalonmel: Agreed to teach uni computer science course to 130+ students when I was 22… and afraid of public speaking.
ourborder: Brave is a funny word. I was more afraid of becoming a father than driving into Haiti post-earthquake.
LMBGoodwin: Cold-called the father I had never met (I was 17).
jenlouden: Fell in love after a divorce and blended our familes
adam_mayfield: Buying my ticket to Thailand and leaving for overseas for the first time
HiroBoga: Moved halfway across the world. Birthed my sons. Three months in silent retreat.
lindaeatsworld: Quit a career job in 2009 without anything lined up
thinkc: Admitted I couldn’t ‘power through’ my bad situation and got help
moonslark: The bravest thing I have ever done is leave an abusive (but financially secure) marriage to become a healthy mother
ctovarez: The bravest thing I have ever done is get married and have children.
Karl_Staib: 3 way tie. Moved away from my family, fought off cancer, and learning to just relax in the moment.
PhotosRmyStry: The bravest thing I’ve ever (so far) done was jump out of a plane… it helped me face my fears of heights and flying.
heidirettig: Write to someone I hadn’t spoken with for 20 years and offer them an apology for the hurt I caused. Turned out well.
intuitivebridge: Faced my kid’s neurodevelopmental disabilities.
AlexisNeely: Decided to take the plunge and rebuild a team again.
kyeli: The bravest thing I’ve ever done was to become a mother. Runner up: becoming myself.
robferriol: Quit a six-figure job at the height of a recession and 10% unemployment
hovlandphoto: The first time was joining Peace Corps.
SaiChoo: Tell a female friend that I liked her.
Brandon101: My decision to pursue Spirit of the Gulf Coast despite not having financial resources or a plan to pull it off
LilyIatridis: First thing that comes to mind is standing up to my father.
jalaine: Deciding to become a stay-at-home dad. Today was my last day at work.
cherrypop94: I’m not sure if it’s brave, but I tried to climb down a cliff to the sea wearing sandals and a dress. Got in trouble, too.
TaraEAnderson: Became a parent.
GennaMcWhinnie: Wrote an open letter to the management [cc'd to all staff] to tell them they treated their staff like shit. Then I quit.
TylerLClark: I moved halfway across the country for an unpaid internship. At the end, they offered me a job. Glad I took the risk!
erdoland: Quit my teaching job to write full time. It sounds silly now, on this side of it, but I was terrified.
lbhuston: Learned to take a stand when something meaningful is at stake. Taken a personal hit to help others less fortunate.
Lorraine_TLA: Bravest thing: adopting a child. Everyone had horror stories to tell me. It was a leap of faith and has worked out beautifully.
FrancescaMaz: At 17, took off for college to a school where I knew no one. 1st time away from family. Built foundation of self-confidence
thisKat: Grew a company x3 and a baby at the same time.
unbjames: coming out of the closet. one by one, we are destroying stereotypes by showing we come from different walks of life
ShimmerGeek: Going along to Roller Derby on my own (Despite massive social anxiety and a life of sucking at anything atheletic)
opheliaswebb: Called off my wedding. And killed a spider in the shower. Equally terrifying.
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My belief about fear and courage is that all of us are scared of all kinds of things, so the wrong approach is to pretend to be fearless. Instead, acknowledge your fears, but proceed anyway.
I also think there is a link between what we are afraid of and what we really want to do. The choice to bridge this gap is where bravery comes from.
So how about you—what’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?
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Image: Nick
January 19, 2011
Paul
I’ve always believed the bravest thing you can do is to face your biggest fears no matter how small those fears may seam to others. I am now overcoming my life long sense of worthlessness. That I can achieve much more than I’ve been told I will achieve. Learning to trust myself and the people around me is also a big step in the right direction for me.
January 19, 2011
Cupcaker
Getting my graduate degree in Counseling Psychology with no money. Leaving a toxic relationship a year into the program. Seeing clients one-on-one.
January 19, 2011
Scott
Changing careers from Architecture to Marketing for 6 months then realising I didnt enjoy marketing at all and lying to myself that I did like it. When really I love architecture, so going back in the field is scary exciting and 101 other emotions.
January 19, 2011
Debbie
The bravest thing I ever did was go back into a dead marriage and resurect it into a many spelndored thing !! So hard to do but SOOO many great rewards now ! Glad I decided to try one more time !!!
January 19, 2011
Laurie
The bravest thing I have ever done was allow myself to fall in love, be heartbroken, fall in love, be heartbroken and still be willing to risk heartbreak for love again and again.
January 19, 2011
Katie Gresham
I’m not so sure I’ve completed my bravest thing yet–I think that will be finally accepting myself and my lifestyle. But, until I can manage that I challenge myself to do more and be more–at work, in my social life, and when I was in school. Trying to actively create positive habits, that’s my bravery so far.
January 19, 2011
Diana
I thought the bravest thing I had done was quit my job, sell almost everything I had, and travel to India to “find” myself. But it’s true what someone said: It’s braver to come back and try to fit in again. Now I’m more creative, or rather, I’m acknowledging and accepting my creativity and I’m writing a book about my journey of self discovery in southern India! It was awesome, a life transforming adventure. I’m planning to take off again at the end of the year, but not quite sure where I’m going next.
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January 20, 2011
Kyle McHattie
I moved cross country to have a relationship with my daughter (who was 4 at the time). Then 9 years later moved back to the place I love to do what I love (my daughter can fly on her own now). Both moves were hard and scary.
January 20, 2011
Kristin Ehrecke
I went backpacking through Asia for 12 weeks without a plan or guidebook. There I conquered a few fears like jumping off a 45 foot cliff in Thailand and getting licensed to scuba dive when I was afraid of diving! When I came back, I moved to Colorado without a job lined up and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made!
January 20, 2011
gigiowls89
Sharing my pain and story of the death of my brother and a close friend in front of a room of people I barely knew. And crying about it. I’m not an emotional person.
January 20, 2011
Lois
Learned to skydive when I was 52! Some people call it stupid, not brave, but I love it! Who cares what other people think?!
January 20, 2011
gigiowls89
Another note-someone I admire once said something about bravery that has stuck with me. There are two types of bravery-there is an active bravery, where we stand up for something despite our fears and the opinions of others, and there is also an enduring bravery, when we have the humility to endure something that hurts us. Both have equal value. Both involve incredible courage and humility. But sometimes we have no choice but to choose for ourselves how we are going to face our fears. Do we make the first punch despite our deepest fears and out of protection of ourselves and those we love, or do we accept a slap to the face, not out of fear but of the courage to face what life has laid before us? Either way, there is no fear in love, and there is no fear in humility. Remember there is always going to be a second right answer.
January 20, 2011
Steve
Scheduling dozens of interviews even though I had no intention of getting the job to gain valuable experience with my interview skills. This gave me the ultimate training run for the real deal.
January 21, 2011
Chris C
Bravest thing I ever did: left home. It’s that simple.
January 21, 2011
Natalie
Cut off about 2 feet of hair sold it to a wig maker, sold pretty much everything else in the apt too, to buy a one way plane ticket to New Zealand when I have never even flown or been more than a days drive to home. I had one interview lined up and now I live in NZ and have a fantastic job.
January 22, 2011
Penelope J.
Making a new start after losing everything, at 57, commuting 4 1/2 hours a day on public transport from Tijuana to work in a San Diego phone room.
January 23, 2011
Chad C.
I’ve always been pretty anxious about sharing my ideas with people for fear of negative judgement. It’s led me to be somewhat perfectionsitic in developing me ideas, reworking them often, but never sharing them with many people.
So I decided to just go ahead and try to share one with the world, to put it out there to any judgements people are willing to make. It is a non-profit project for charity, and if you wish you can take a look.
January 23, 2011
rutiah
Moved from Europe to Chicago, IL two months ago with two suitcases and knowing no one. Jumping forward without a safety net is an unreproducible feeling.
January 24, 2011
Mariah Williams
After 15 years away from it, going back into the culture, community, family system and even home where I survived incest to heal to even deeper layers.
January 26, 2011
Jennifer
Let myself fall in love again. I’m trying at least
January 26, 2011
Justin Hamlin
Moving with my wife to New York state, no job lined up, no money coming in (except for hers) so that she can follow her career that she loves.
January 27, 2011
Rui
A few times in my life I get tears in my eyes (almost crying). After reading about twenty human bravest things on this beautiful list Chris gathered I got those tears.
Bravest things: Being a parent. Standing for those that work with me.
Chris you rock.
February 18, 2011
Jen M.
Bravest thing I have ever done was to kick my alcoholic out. It hurt a lot, and the whole saga did not end well, and I’m still healing from all of the trauma, but I did it, and I AM healing.
(I only wish they were, too.)
March 10, 2011
Jenny Silk
I’m a late responder to this message Chris, but I guess there have been a couple of things that I’ve done in my life that could be classified as ‘brave’.
First I stood up to an abusive partner, said to myself ‘I absolutely do not deserve this’ and divorced him and secondly I made the difficult decision to put motherhood over a mortgage and quit my job to be a full time stay at home Mom.
Luckily the fates were on my side and both of these decisions were the very best things I could have done.
Raising your expectations of yourself and others goes a long way towards a remarkable life in my experience.
Thanks for your insights.
March 28, 2011
hakuna matata
i deferred housemanship (or you may call it internship in your part of the world) to try and make a U-turn back into the world of music, or at least trying to find a balance between music and medicine. Many in my part of the world would consider that a really foolish and non-sensible decision but i……”took the road less travelled” (Robert Frost, 1920).