Determinants of Courage

Once Dr. Phil played an episode in which he interviewed several people who had done courageous things and asked them to explain courage. I do not consider myself a courageous person, but I know a number of people who are highly courageous, and from what I've seen there appear to be several places from which courage can come.

The first one and most important one is competence. If you know how to run into a burning house and save someone without perishing, then you are more likely to do that than if you don't know how to do such a thing. Similarly the people who know what they're doing as soldiers are more likely to go to battle and perform in battle than people who don't know what they're doing as soldiers. Competence gives courage because it makes the person know that he can complete the task; and the biggest predictor of courage is competence.

The second is faith. Whether the faith is in God, or in the self, or in a political cause of which one is a part, faith gives the state of mind to do difficult and dangerous things. While the courage that comes from competence is confidence that one can complete the task, faith gives more of a borrowed courage: The belief that it is so important to do something that, even if one were to get negative confidences for it, it's still an act worthy of having done. For this reason we see any number of people without military or police training do brave things for any number of things that they may believe.

Also, there is courage that comes from desperation. This is where we find the expression "Courage is a word for nothing left to lose." If there is nothing to look forward to, or if one's life is a muddle, then one doesn't stand to lose much by dying or being injured; which means that a person in that position can be highly courageous even if he normally is not.

These are the three main ones; but there are others sources of courage as well. One atypical source I've seen is compassion and caring. Compassion and caring brings a person to do things for others that are difficult and dangerous, even if those things bear no selfish reward. The people in this situation care so much about the next person, or about something external to themselves, that they would sacrifice much or risk much to assist or to set things right. And while there are some people who believe that compassion is for sissies, the people who are moved by compassion to do brave things are in fact the strongest and the best in the bunch.

Another source I've seen is the opposite of the preceding: Not caring. Some people are daredevils who don't care what happens to them and who like doing risky things for the rush. Some people are thrill-seekers, and that includes also those who deliberately put themselves in challenging situations in order to overcome challenge. Some people do not see this as real courage; however on occasion these people would do genuinely courageous things and apply their risk-seeking nature toward doing real good rather than simply seeking thrills.

I am sure there are other things that drive courage; but these are the ones that I've seen personally. If I've missed something I invite people to add more.

I am sure there are other things that drive courage; but these are the ones that I've seen personally. If I've missed something I invite people to add more.