True courage October 24, 2016 – Posted in: Personal Development – Tags: , ,

I was absolutely blown away by a 22-year old soldier named Jack Davis on the TV this morning. He was on a breakfast show talking about true courage.

Nothing to do with war.
Nothing to do with guns.
Nothing to do with combat.

He was talking about grief and how he’d turned to a blog to express the grief he felt watching his fiancé lose not just one but two babies to still birth.

He spoke SO eloquently about loss and how buried feelings do more damage than those spoken about. He talked about how ‘being a man’ means he was supposed not to feel sad but how very sad he was.

But, Jack, what you showed this morning was true courage! You are far more of a man for speaking the truth than those who bury their feelings behind bravado and biceps.

Jack was courageous enough to say he was hurting, that he missed his lost babies, that his children were gone and he found that so desperately hard to cope with.

And, I found myself shouting “YES” at the TV. Because I am sick and tired of stiff upper lips and denial of feelings. Real men and women cry sometimes. Courageous people own their feelings and talk about them. Brave folk take responsibility for their stuff and garner support to manage it.

This young man and his beautiful fiancé reminded me to be real today. I was brimming with admiration for them both.

What A Year

« Is there really no space for the personal on LinkedIn?
The Comparison Trap »