The Courage to Be Bold  S. 2 E.25 

Listen to this episode to learn why being bold is good and 4 steps you can take to have the courage to be bold. 

 

Show Notes

Episode summary:

When you hear the word “bold” what do you think of? Does boldness have a negative or positive connotation for you? Boldness can actually be one of your best attributes if used well. Today, we’re examining what it means to be bold, talking about why being bold is actually a good thing, and discussing 4 steps you can take to build your boldness muscle.

In this episode:

When you hear the word “bold” what emotions does it stir up for you? What images come to your mind?

Most people think of boldness as the friend with the pink colored hair, the co-worker who is quick to speak their mind in a meeting, or the family member who asks personal questions.

But have you ever considered that boldness is so much more?

And what does boldness have to do with helping you find fulfillment in your work and home life?

A lot actually so stick around.

What is boldness.

Yes, “bold” is a four letter word. But is doesn’t have to have the negative connotation of those other 4 letter words.  😊

The adjectives used to describe someone who is bold are actually extremely desirable traits. Let’s examine a few of the traits associated with people who take bold action or are described as bold:

People who are bold often:

• Display energy and excitement
• Prioritize, are seen as strong, vivid, and ready for action
• Have confidence and courage
• Believe in reaching the next level
• Have the ability to make strong connections
• Look forward with clarity
• Take risks
• And have a belief in themselves

Finally, people who are bold are often perceived to be joyful and fulfilled.

With a description like that, doesn’t boldness seem like something we should all be striving for in our work and home lives?

It is true that some definitions of the word “bold” include doing something that might be considered audacious but almost all definitions of “bold” include language about taking a risk with confidence and courage. That is something to strive for.

Notice that the definition does not say you have to be bold with EVERY decision you make in a day. However, what would it look like for you to pick things in you work and home life that really matter to you and then take the risk with confidence and courage?

Quote:

“Sometimes the leap in real life is a simple change we’ve waited a long time to make.”

and

“You’ve been waiting. Be bold and go.”

Brendan Burchard.

Think about a time when you acted with boldness at home or at work. How did it feel?

Fred Joyal, author of Superbold, stated, “In essence, boldness is simply moving from inaction to action. But that is a big move. Most people choose inaction. Most people stay in their comfort zone 24/7. It’s a whole lot easier. But if you’re dissatisfied with life so far, and want to discover what’s really possible, you’re going to have to make that crucial, simple move from inaction to action.”

4 Simple Steps You Can Take to Build Boldness in Your Life. 

After hearing the characteristics of people who are bold, we are guessing you identified with some of them. You are already bold in some way. We want to help you to build upon your boldness.

However, before we start the 4 steps, it is important to set the stage. As you move toward becoming more bold in your personal and professional life, we offer these important reminders:

• Stay true to you, your “bold moves” are not the same as what others might see as bold.
• Have faith in yourself, you are more capable than you give yourself credit for.
• Have courage. It will not always be easy, but important things are rarely easy.
• Stay positive.
• Look for opportunities that align with your values, and then jump in.

Most importantly, understand who you are, what is most important to you and what you want. If it aligns with you what is important to you, then it is where you should venture into your boldness.

Building Your Boldness

Step 1: Start with Your Values

Ask yourself, “What matters to me?”.  Examine your answer. Those are the areas where you should be bold.

If you believe in something enough, you will have the courage to work toward it. If you don’t believe in it, your motivation and boldness will quickly fade.

If someone else is pushing their values on you, it is ok to say “no thanks” and focus your energy on what matters to you.

Why? Because it is easier to be bold with something you care deeply about.

Step 2: Look for Opportunities and Discern

Consider opportunities to be bold. Consider both those that exist and those that do not yet exist. Listen to that voice that has been saying to you, “I really wish…” or “If I could, I would….” Those things might be sending you towards an opportunity to be bold.

Sit in silence and solitude to really contemplate if this is where you want to be bold.

Ask yourself, “How does being bold with this opportunity feel in my head, heart and gut?”

In Episode 17, we talked about IQ, EQ and GQ. Make a plan for what boldness will look like in this opportunity. Visualize, write it down, make a mind map. Do whatever works best for you to create a clear understanding of what boldness would look, feel and sound like for you in this situation.

Step 3: Prepare Yourself for Courageous Conversations

Author and activist, Glennon Doyle, says, “I see your fear and it is big. I also see your courage and it is bigger. We can do hard things.”

Your boldness may spark resistance in others. This is especially true if they expect you not to be bold. Expect resistance so you are not caught off guard when it happens. Consider who you expect to resist, in what way, when and how. That way you can start to prepare yourself.

Have the difficult conversations. Expect uncomfortableness and stay true to your values.

Use “I statements” since you are explaining why something matters to you.

Not everyone will agree with you. That’s ok. You may still learn from their viewpoint. For example, even if you don’t agree with their stance there is a chance that others may have the same objection. By listening to their objection, you can note it and address it in your opening argument to the next person so you can acknowledge it right away and then move past it.

Another idea is to carefully decide who you share things with and what you share. Don’t share your dream project with the naysayers, or as we like to call them, the Dream Slayers.

Step 4 Proactively Create a Plan to Maintain Boldness

You don’t want your boldness to be a passing phase and you don’t want to lose momentum.

Momentum will matter to you and to others.

• What supports will you build in to keep you bold, courageous and confident? Will they be people? Notes you leave yourself? If you are not naturally courageous and confident, how can you make sure that you celebrate your wins and build a plan for continued success? How will you celebrate your successes and who can you go to in difficult times so you don’t give up?
• What physical reminders will you create to remind you that you are being bold in alignment with your values? An examples could include a vision board.

Here is our example of boldness.  

When we started this podcast we knew we were going to needed to be bold and take a risk, putting ourselves out there to do something we had never done before. We also knew were going to need momentum to keep it going. Why? Here are a few interesting podcast statistics:

At the time of this recording:

• 4 million podcasts have been started
• Of those 4 million only 20% make it past 10 episodes
• Of those 20% that make it past 10 episodes, only 20% post of them post on a weekly basis

This is episode 25, and we have posted a new episode every Wednesday since we started this podcast! It is not because we are better than the millions of other podcasters who haven’t had 25 consecutive weekly episodes, it’s because we were intentional about keeping our momentum.

How? First, we have each other. Second, we record our stats. Paula looks at them regularly and updates them in our spreadsheet so we can visually track our progress and see the impact we are making. Every time we hit a milestone we celebrate together. When we made the list of top Education podcasts in Barbados? Yep, we celebrated. List of top podcasts in India, yep, more celebrating!

Every month, we watch the numbers as we move up in the rankings of Educational podcasts in the US and globally. Talk about motivation! You give that to us every time you listen to a podcast! We continue to be bold because you are our motivation.

Being bold matters. When you are living boldly:

• You are living closer to your values.
• You will have more personal fulfillment and happiness.
• Others will benefit from your commitment.
• You can make the world a better place.

Grow, Advance and Elevate Yourself

Is building your boldness easy? No, not always. Is being bold in things that matter to you important? Absolutely.

Fred Joyal, who we referenced earlier in this podcast, once wrote, “As I present people with the possibility of becoming bolder, one of the classic defense mechanisms they default to is saying, ‘This just isn’t me.’ From wherever you are on the boldness scale, you can choose to grow, advance, and elevate yourself to untold heights of boldness until you are superbold, summoning it whenever you choose. You’ll still be that essential you. Just a more wonderful version.”

Recap   

You can be bold. Once you know what is important to you, speaking up or taking bold action can be not only rewarding, but life fulfilling.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Inspired Together Teachers podcast episode 17, Get Out of Your Head

 

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