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We often think of bold courage as something you either have or you don't -- a sudden burst of bravery in a critical moment. But what if I told you that bold courage isn't a fixed trait, but rather a muscle you can actively build and strengthen over time?

This week, I'm peeling back the layers on how to cultivate your "bold courage muscle." Forget grand, sweeping gestures for now. I'm going to give you practical, incremental steps that will gradually expand your capacity for taking risks, facing challenges, and ultimately, living a more fulfilling & bold life.

The Myth of Instant Bold Courage

Let's be honest. The movies often portray courage as a hero leaping into action without a second thought. While inspiring, this feels unattainable for many of us. The truth is that, for most, courage is a process -- a series of small victories that build momentum.

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Practical Exercises to Flex Your Bold Courage Muscle

The "Small Win" Challenge: Identify one small thing you've been avoiding due to discomfort or fear. It could be as simple as striking up a conversation with a stranger, asking a question in a meeting, or trying a new food.

Commit to doing that one small, bold thing this week. Notice how you feel before, during, and after.

Often, the anticipation is worse than the reality. This builds confidence by showing you that you can face minor discomfort and come out okay (or even better -- come out stronger, bolder, and braver) on the other side.

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone (Slightly Boldly): Think of your comfort zone as a circle. True growth happens just outside that circle. Decide to step out.

Identify an activity that sits just at the edge of your comfort zone. Maybe it's volunteering for a small task you usually wouldn't, or expressing an opinion you've kept to yourself. Gradually push that boundary.

Repeatedly stepping slightly outside your comfort zone normalizes the feeling of discomfort and expands what feels "safe."

Practice Saying "No": Saying "yes" to everything can stem from a fear of disappointing others. True courage sometimes lies in setting healthy boundaries.

Identify one instance this week where you can politely and assertively say "no" to a request that doesn't serve you. Stick to it.

This builds the courage to prioritize your own needs and values, even when it feels difficult.

Reframe Failure as Learning: Fear of failure often paralyzes us. Courage isn't the absence of fear, but acting despite it. When you inevitably face setbacks (as we all do), consciously shift your perspective.

Ask yourself: "What can I learn from this?" Focus on the growth, not just the "failure."

This reduces the power of fear by changing your relationship with mistakes. Courage becomes less about avoiding failure and more about navigating it.

Visualize Courageous Actions: Mental rehearsal can prime your mind for bold or courageous behavior. Take a few moments each day to vividly imagine yourself successfully navigating a challenging situation you anticipate.

Feel the confidence and strength in your visualization. Where in your body do you feel it?

This helps to desensitize you to the perceived fear and builds a mental blueprint for courageous action.

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Building courage is not about becoming fearless overnight. It's about consistent, small acts that demonstrate to yourself that you are capable of more than you think -- because YOU ARE CAPABLE of so much more than you believe!

Which of these "bold courage-building" exercises resonates most with you? Pick one to focus on this week and let me know how it goes! You can reply directly to this email -- I'd love to hear about your journey.

Keep flexing that BOLD courage muscle!

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Ready to move forward and face a fear after failure? My Face-plant to Fearless: Your Bold Steps Worksheet is your no-nonsense guide to reframing setbacks, creating actionable plans, and finally taking those bold steps you've been hesitating to take. You can get it for just $5 and use it over and over. ​

Still having difficulty with moving forward with taking a bold or courageous step? Purchase my Taking Small Courageous Steps Worksheet for only $5! You can use it again and again for any goal, situation, relationship or issue that feels too big or you don't know where to start. This worksheet is designed not just to tell you what to do, but to guide you through the how and the why behind taking small, bold steps. Click here!​

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The Uncomfortable Truth and a Gradual Goodbye

It has been a year since I physically left my 20+ year marriage. I remember the chilly morning I first seriously considered leaving. My favorite coffee cup warmed my hands, but not the cold knot in my stomach as I sat on the couch at 4:30 am, realizing I needed a change -- a major one.

To be exact, it was 23 years of dating and being married. More than half my life spent within the predictable and often frustrating orbit of my husband, Jason.

Predictable. That word felt less like security and more like a cage due to the predictable financial chaos of his choices and consistent lack of taking responsibility for them, for most of our 20-year marriage.

The thought of leaving -- of dismantling the life we’d built with our 3 kids, brick by predictable brick -- felt like staring into an abyss.

It demanded a kind of bold courage I wasn’t sure I possessed. Yet, I also knew I was not able to continue down the same path anymore. I was just starting to recover from the significant burnout I suffered through for years -- both due to his choices and my responses in trying to fix things and support in ways that drained the affection, trust, and emotional security from our relationship.

Physically leaving itself was a gradual process... just like the emotional leaving I engaged in for my mental and emotional safety over the 2 years prior.

Admitting I needed the change (to leave) was my first "small win." I was finally admitting the truth to myself that I needed a radical change for safety.

I deserved more.

It wasn't just a fleeting thought anymore, because I started writing it down in my journal. "I am deeply unhappy. I do not feel safe emotionally. I am not truly seen or appreciated."

Seeing those words on paper felt terrifying, yet liberating. It was a tiny crack in the dam of denial that I had learned to live with for so long.

I truly believed I was honoring my marriage vows by supporting blindly and giving copious, compassionate grace until it drained me entirely into sickness and burnout. I desperately needed a healthy reframe -- BUT it was horrifying to admit I was wrong.

My stepping slightly outside my comfort zone involved many conversations with Trina, my best friend. Telling her, in hushed, shameful tones, that I was considering leaving. Just saying the words aloud felt like a monumental act. Her non-judgmental support was a lifeline.

Saying "no" came next. I remember the last time we were sexually intimate, thinking to myself, "This was the last time." I couldn't do it again and pretend I was ok. I couldn't pretend I was fulfilled. I couldn't pretend or try to create emotional intimacy that just wasn't there anymore.

The next time he reached out to me in the middle of the night, I said, "No" firmly. It hurt him deeply, but the thought of pretending, of engaging in another sexual interaction steeped in a reality that no longer fit, felt suffocating. It was a small "no," but I felt safer.

The fear of failure loomed large. This was what held me back from physically leaving sooner. What if I couldn't make it on my own? What if I regretted this? What if it completely screwed up my kids? This is where reframing failure as learning came in for me.

I eventually got to the place of knowing that even if this path was rocky, even if I stumbled, I knew I would learn something about myself, about what I truly needed. The "failure" wouldn't be the end of the marriage, but a new, albeit potentially messy, beginning -- for BOTH of us.

The true failure would be trying to continue in something that was literally making me sick. The body keeps the score when there is unprocessed trauma of any kind. The failure would be continuing in unhealthy ways that would affect the kids. The failure would be to continue to support endeavors that no longer aligned after the spiritual growth I experienced over the last few years.

Once I decided that I had to leave for my own health, safety, and security, visualization exercises became my nightly ritual. I'd close my eyes and picture myself living independently for the first time ever in my life -- not in some idealized fantasy, but in a real, everyday way.

I’d see myself paying bills, making decisions on my own, and feeling a sense of quiet strength that I didn't know in the present. I’d visualize the difficult conversations with Jason, picturing myself speaking calmly and truthfully. I visualized myself standing up for myself and my needs for the first time in a way that wasn't about pleasing anyone else.

The day I finally told him, "I think we needed to separate", felt less like a single act of bold bravery and more like the culmination of those small, consistent exercises. My voice trembled, but it didn't break down. There were tears, his and mine, and a heavy silence that hung in the air. But beneath the fear and sadness, there was a burgeoning sense of…freedom.

It wasn't the dramatic, movie-worthy courage I imagined I would need. It was a quieter, more persistent kind -- built slowly, deliberately, one small step at a time.

The "bold courage muscle," I continue to flex, is sometimes still tender, still growing. But for the first time in a long time, now a year out from that life-changing decision, I feel hope, a belief in my own strength to navigate the unknown.

To be perfectly truthful, the abyss still looms, but now, I have the beginnings of a bridge I am slowly, consistently building one bold and healing step at a time.

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Bold Challenge Questions:

When you face a monumental decision that requires significant courage, how confident are you that the small steps you've taken to build your "bold courage muscle" will truly support you in navigating the potential emotional and practical fallout? What more might you need to cultivate for those high-stakes moments?

How do you currently identify your sweet spot for growth -- that edge where you're challenged but not overwhelmed? What's one small step you could take this week to gently push that boundary and expand what feels possible for you?

When you face a significant disappointment or "failure," how do you typically process it? What's one way you could consciously choose to reframe a past or potential future setback as a learning opportunity that ultimately strengthens your courage, even if the situation involves pain?

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Ready to rise from setbacks to success, heal your emotional wounds, and transform your relationships and your own well-being?

If you're ready to leave the struggle behind and unleash your inner strength, let's connect.

Discover personalized support to level up your life with 1:1 coaching. ​

Schedule a free "Clarity Call Session" with Brianna and let's start your transformation: FREE CLARITY CALL SCHEDULE​

Let's create lasting change together. ✨

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Craving More Challenge?

Subscribe to my YouTube channel and dare to watch the last two seasons of "Boldly Driven Conversations with Bri" episode(s). Season 3 will begin again in August! Until then, make sure to go back and watch all the episodes you've missed!

Summer Pool Time is Here!

Are you ready to stop playing small and actually do something good for yourself this sunny season? Ready to finally lighten your emotional baggage?

Dive into one of my Emotional Healing journals on Amazon and let's get to work on a brighter you this Summer!

Your favorite, most radiant self is waiting for you to discover them under the summer sky!

Be Boldly You!

I see you, Gorgeous.

-Bri💋

Brianna L. George

Boldly live out loud as your authentic self.💋

​BriannaLGeorge.com​

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