I have never thought of myself as courageous.  I would use many other words to describe me - thoughtful, reflective, smart, sometimes judgemental but never courageous.  That is why the statement...the most courageous thing I have ever done ...is so perplexing. 

Over the past few days I have been reflecting on this.  Does courage come when we are faced with great stress or dilemmas?  Does courage come from standing up to your convictions? Does courage come from being able to say I don't have all the answers?  Or does courage come from the strength that you never knew you had but have been able to draw on during times of great change? 

Maybe the answer is that courage is all of these, not a single act, but rather the multiple times in your life when you summon the strength, you speak the words that often are left unspoken, you help others get through and those times you take a risk, leaping into the unknown. 

Do i have courage?  There are times when, despite the odds, I have moved forward.  These times have led to transformative moments for me where the depth of the lessons outweighed the risks, even if this was not realized at the time. 

Thanks Rich Harwood and The Harwood Institute for asking such a provocative question.