Editor’s note: This article is an excerpt from “Courage is Calling” (Courage is Calling, Xiyuan Publishing House, Jieteng Culture, 2023), a representative work of contemporary Stoicism. The author analyzes the manifestations of fear, cowardice, and bravery in the book, along with heroism, and illustrates why leaders such as Charles de Gaulle and Florence Nightingale held firm to their convictions when facing difficult life decisions. It showcases methods for overcoming fear in everyday life, addressing ethical dilemmas, and resisting them. It is hoped that no matter how confused and lost we are, we can lead ourselves out of the difficulties.
Three and a half years have passed, yet the moment of signing the “Declaration of Independence” is still etched in Benjamin Rush’s mind, and no one in the room will ever forget it.
“Do you still remember that moment?” he mentioned in a letter to John Adams in his later years, “As we were called one by one to the table of the president of the congress to sign the document we identified with in our hearts, a dreadful silence that inspired deep contemplation filled the room. For many at the time, was it as if they were signing their own death warrants?”
When you signed your name, you were already in grave danger. Looking back at those years, today they might realize that they would succeed, they seem so prescient, brave, and strong. Yet at that time, Rush had just turned 20 and was about to embark on the most dangerous experience of his life. And he did it.
In the Grimm fairy tale “The Golden Key”, the Old Man of the Earth showed a little boy the cruelty of the world, declaring that without risk there is no progress. He moved a huge stone from the entrance of the cave to reveal a bottomless pit to the boy.
“This is how it is,” he said.
“But there are no stairs here,” the boy replied.
“You must commit with all your heart,” he told the boy, “there is no other way.”
It is terrifying, but there is no choice.
Tiger Woods hoped to maintain his original swing record after redesigning his swing, but things did not go as he wished. He went through dreadful first, second, third, and fourth attempts.
All growth involves risk. If you feel fear, you’ll never accomplish anything worthwhile. If you are always anxious and scared, you will never take that first step, possibly the one that leads to soaring heights.
We could have spoken out for justice, we could have bet on the future, we could have encountered benefactors, we should have learned from lessons, we could have fought valiantly to win. What if life was full of certainties, a clear, unobstructed path ahead? How would it be? If life really was like that, courage would not be necessary.
It would have been great if someone could show Reed Hastings the future of TV and movies as streaming media. But nobody did that. However, Reed had a good business sense, and he believed streaming media was definitely the future. He was running a multi-billion dollar business, renting DVDs by mail. To capitalize on the potential of streaming, he put his DVD business at risk. He had to be brave and move forward amidst the analysis and criticism of analysts and critics, and his own doubts, just like every other successful leader and entrepreneur, doing what he had to do.
No one can tell you if your plan will succeed. No one can give you the answer to your question. No one can guarantee that you will make it home alive. They can’t even tell you how deep that hole really is.
If they could, if it wasn’t scary, if everyone could do it, then there would be no need for you to do it, right? Weak people always miss the opportunity; they always want to know the odds of winning, they need time to prepare, they seek promises, they hope for a breather. They are willing to give up everything for these, including moments that will never come again.
If fear drives your life, you will always be afraid of missing out on something. Because you’re too timid, you worry about how others will see you in the future. If your life never requires courage, then you will lead a boring existence. Be ready and geared up for that leap in your life.
Don’t be afraid to make a decision
Dean Acheson was the Under Secretary of State for George Marshall and then the Secretary of State for Harry Truman. After retiring, he served as an advisor to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.
He witnessed some of the most critical and tense moments in American history, such as the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and so on. In this environment of high pressure where the weak are feeble and the strong are gloriously great, only leaders who are both brave and strategic can pull the world out of chaos and destruction. Cowardice and retreat, not only lose face but also threaten the lives of millions of people.
“High-level decision-making,” Acheson realized, “never involves easy options. Every choice is a matter of weighing the lesser of two evils, and the consequences are often unpredictable.” This is what frightens us, making the wrong decision, messing things up, with unimaginable consequences.
What if I’m wrong? What if others disagree? What if something else happens? Should you stand your ground? Or run away? Should you say something? Should you do this or try that? What if it doesn’t work? With so many options, none of them easy, none of them clear. All these frightening choices are tormenting you, as Shakespeare said: “It is like a phantasm, or a hideous dream.”
We tell ourselves we are thinking, we are weighing the pros and cons, we are making progress. In fact, we are immobilized by fear, overwhelmed by choices. What we do is merely to make ourselves more miserable. We tell ourselves it’s all about choices… The truth is we are stuck by continuously weighing them.
In the meantime, many others are making progress. There is a story about a Spartan king who led his army across Greece. At every new country, he would send messengers to negotiate, asking whether they should prepare to treat them as friends or enemies.
Most countries made their decisions quickly, with the majority choosing to cooperate. But one king wanted to think over his options because he was afraid of committing. So he kept thinking until the decision was made for him. “Then let him think on,” said the disappointed Spartan general through clenched teeth, “We march on.” As the song goes, even if you choose not to decide, even if you put off everything, you still have made a choice. You choose to stay the same, you give others the right to vote, you give up the chance to decide for yourself.
“The coward’s greatest fear,” Soren Aabye Kierkegaard said, “is to make a decision, and the decision immediately disperses the fog.” You’re afraid of the consequences. So you keep thinking, hoping you can postpone the process. Does not making a choice mean you won’t fail? Of course, you lose precious opportunities, lose momentum, and the ability to reflect continuously.
Start somewhere, do something
Thomas Edison said life is too short to start with trifles. He always wanted to solve difficult problems and undertake ambitious projects. Fortune favors the brave, right? But perhaps we can indeed start with small actions, but think big from the outset.
Solve a problem, make slight changes, write a sentence, send a letter, light a spark. We can figure out what happens next. Your headlight only illuminates the dark road a few feet ahead, but this is sufficient for you to keep moving and making consistent progress. Isn’t this how we solve big problems? Break them down, focusing on the immediate issue? Ideally, start as early as possible before it gets tougher or entangled with other issues? Establishing milestones, as you cross off each problem from your list, your confidence also grows. Most importantly, isn’t this the help that practice brings? To tell you the first small thing you need to do, that’s the work that you happen to need to do right now.
You will not always succeed, but then again, it’s not just about you anyway. Someone can pick up where you left off. All you need to do is start things; all you need is to do your best to complete your leg of the relay race.
How to overcome all fears? How to ignore the various reasons that prevent you from doing what you intend to do? In the words of the distinguished Navy SEAL Jocko Willink, to conquer fear, you simply act. Just go, jump into the dark, that’s your only way.
“In such circumstances,” Charles de Gaulle once explained to some reticent members of his government, “one must either move forward or wait for death. I chose to advance; this doesn’t exclude the possibility of death.” He set off thus, with his wife following him, at a time when France was in decline, without suitcases, parachutes, nor a backup plan. And so, he bravely advanced time and again, through crises in Algeria and the student protests of 1968. The die was cast.
Ryan Holiday | Text
Ryan Holiday was born in 1987 in the United States as an entrepreneur, media strategist, and bestselling author. He has previously served as the marketing director for the clothing brand American Apparel, editor and columnist for The New York Observer, and continues to write articles about contemporary Stoicism for Forbes and The Guardian. He is an important promoter of the contemporary Stoicism movement, having been invited to speak at Google, TED, HSBC, the United States Marine Corps, various sports teams, and corporations.
Sun Yan | Editor
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