“I have heard it said, when in doubt, to always make the brave choice.” - Joe Loomis

Reflection 7

What is bravery? Courage in the face of fear, right? It’s that bold step forward despite the subconscious alarm of danger urging us to stop. But why is this defiant act considered so universally virtuous? Fear is merely an inherited instinct designed to help us survive potentially dangerous situations. Why fight it?

We humans, I would assert, innately desire more than mere survival. We are imbued with something divine, something that drives us to partake in the creation of the universe, no matter how great or small. However, if you've ever tried to innovate, write, or make anything creative in a state of prolonged stress—where our minds are chronically “surviving”—you’ve probably realized that we cannot effectively do this in survival mode. We cannot create while fear has us pinned in its safety net.

But why bother with courage at all? The courageous get killed, ridiculed, rejected. They experience failure and pain. Why not simply remain safe?

I believe it is due to a spiritually instilled desire to create in the face of mortality.

This divine aspect of our nature compels us to do things we’re afraid of because we believe in something greater than the present known – something which lies beyond the unknown. This virtue should not be confused with recklessness; fear is a necessary mechanism to keep us from harm. We are mortal, after all, at least in body. If the risky nature of the unknown is a primary driver for healthy fear, then the counterbalance is knowledge and confidence. With proper training and understanding, you can jump out of an airplane with confidence, knowing your equipment and preparation will ensure your survival. When you know something can be done, fear loses power and you’re able to take on challenges that seem hard or even impossible. Fear of the unknown can thus be mitigated by knowing yourself and learning your environment, adding fuel to your conviction.

Not all fear is directly connected with life and death. In social circles, fear of rejection is a primal force. In primitive times, acceptance within the tribe meant security, and rejection meant isolation and probable death – a safety in numbers thing. Today, while the stakes are typically different, that instinct remains. We may yearn for something beyond the accepted norm but are pulled back by the illusion of safety, keeping quiet and conforming with the others. Setting out on your own with a new idea while those around you disapprove and coax you back takes a great deal of conviction and trust in your intuition. It takes bravery, even if it turns out to be the wrong decision in hindsight.

Now, right and wrong is a vast field of grey and intuition can be considered closely aligned with conscience – our intuitive compass for navigating morality. The will to create must be aligned with a morally good intention for bravery to exist as a virtue. Bravery is not taking on risk for its own sake. As recklessness can be attributed to ignorance, seeking danger or to be different without an inherently good objective could be considered more existential individualism or egoism, not necessarily morally wrong but not exactly virtuous. I would love to dive into man’s innate drive for superlative virtue and the archetypes that inspire it, but that is for another reflection.

What if you are torn? What if you are faced with a decision in which either direction could have both right and wrong outcomes? What is the “good” choice? I have heard it said, when in doubt, to always make the brave choice. In this way, even in failure, you are constantly creating something new within yourself and your world.

Creation makes new. The new breaches the unknown. Unknowns mean risk. Therefore, creation always involves some risk. We can view this as a battle between instinct and intuition: the primal need to survive versus the divine drive to create. They coexist within us, and it is up to each of us to decide which is the Captain and which is the XO.

Bravery isn’t about being fearless. It’s about acknowledging the fear and moving forward anyway. It’s trusting that divine part of you that yearns to create, to innovate, and to bring something new into the world. It is ultimately held in such high regard because it is the embodiment of our untapped aspirations. It is the force that propels us beyond mere survival, to partake in the ongoing act of creation that defines our humanity. Survive, but always move forward – fail forward - towards extraordinary.