The Happiness Explorer
How to…get more courage. By Lydia Kimmerling
I listened to Oprah Winfrey tell a story about the year she set an intention to have more courage. After a quick word with god about supporting her with this intention, she felt happy with this desire being set into motion, until she wasn’t happy. That year was extremely tough for her, and she found herself questioning what was going on. But of course, Oprah being Oprah (I’m a huge fan) she quickly saw how her prayers had been answered.
Think of the last time you did something that was out of your comfort zone or that felt scary. Did the courage arrive before or after? The act of being courageous, rarely feels as though it is at the time. To have more courage, you must put yourself in situations where you have to be courageous.
Eventually Oprah had enough doing what it took to have more courage and said to god, “I’ve got it, enough already.” She was happy with how courageous she had become and no longer wished for more.
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being extremely happy), where would you place yourself on that scale currently? And for you to be at 10 and extremely happy, how would life need to look differently? What is it you think you need more of to take yourself from the number you are at now, to a 10?
When I ask this in my seven-day programme, The Happiness Reset, what I regularly hear is: “I need more courage and confidence”. You have all of the courage and confidence you need to create the change you want to see, you’re just not using it. Why? We expect to feel courageous and confident first, before taking the action. You will become a more confident and courageous person after you do what feels difficult.
As Oprah had experienced with courage, I had a similar experience, but with growth.
Whilst working with a plant medicine, I set my intention for the ceremony as growth.
During my experience, I was shown an image of holding a baby and told, if you want to grow, do this. A year later I was pregnant.
Becoming a mum has been the most challenging experience of my life. My little boy didn’t sleep for the first three years, I had to support myself financially from the beginning and I also went through a break up with his father.
When this challenging time was too much to bear, I remember kneeling at the bottom of my bed and for the first time since I was a little girl — the daughter of a pastor — I put my palms together and begged god for a different experience.
What arrived instead was a flashback to asking for growth. I asked for this and boy was I getting the XXL, VIP, platinum service delivery of growth. (Note: Be careful what you ask for, you’re more powerful than you give yourself credit).
The truth is growth can be painful. Courage can be scary. But landing on the other side of difficulty always feels epic, because you realise that all along, you had what was needed to do it and get through it already. You just needed the difficulty in your life to have to use it.
Hey gorgeous reader, do you want more courage, or more growth or just something more in life?
Lydia Kimmerling would love to have you on her seven-day programme, The Happiness Reset. It went live on February 6, but you can join anytime. Jump over to her website for more details: thehappinessexplorer.com/the-happiness-reset/ And be sure to follow on Instagram @lydiakimmerling to say hi and let her know you've read this month's column
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
