The 20 Seconds of Braveness Problem

As a part of my operation “Revisit the previous 15 years of Nerd Health,” and after writing about our By no means 2 in a Row Rule, I up to date probably the most fashionable posts and concepts I’ve ever put collectively:

20 Seconds of Braveness.

What began as an obscure line from an obscure Matt Damon film, We Purchased a Zoo, has since grow to be a rallying cry for the Nerd Health Rebel, our group of nerds.

Be at liberty to learn the complete article, however right here’s the quote from the film, the place Matt Damon is recounting to his son how he used 20 seconds of braveness to fulfill his spouse:

You recognize, generally all you want is 20 seconds of insane braveness, simply actually 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery, and I promise you one thing nice will come of it.

Our lives are made up of a ton of fast actions that always take far lower than 20 seconds. Beginning a dialog. Strolling via a door to the gymnasium. Deciding the place to take a seat in a restaurant.

And since we’ve made so many of those selections, there’s a ton of inertia and historical past that may make us suppose we’re incapable of change.

Nonetheless, as Alan Watts factors out, “you’re beneath no obligation to be who you had been 5 minutes in the past.”

And as my good friend Tim City from Wait However Why shares, the paths behind us is perhaps closed, however we at all times have decisions transferring ahead:

Use 20 Seconds of Braveness to Do Exhausting Issues

Brandon Sanderson gave an awesome digital discuss through the pandemic about doing exhausting issues. He encourages us to undertake the next mentality relatively than simply “hope issues will work out!”:

“I can do exhausting issues. Doing exhausting issues has intrinsic worth, and they’re going to make me a greater individual, even when I find yourself failing.”

And generally we’d must do a tough factor that’s scary. Whether or not it’s becoming a member of a gymnasium or standing up for your self at work, or lastly setting boundaries with your loved ones…

It’s okay for those who’re scared, by the way in which.

Doing scary issues is hard, and we’re wired to belief our fears and keep away from scary eventualities, which has saved us alive for a whole lot of hundreds of years as a species.

However doing exhausting issues is normally a prerequisite for change, and our concern typically doesn’t match the truth of the occasion itself.

As Seneca shares in his letter to Lucilius:

“There are extra issues, Lucilius, prone to frighten us than there are to crush us; we undergo extra typically in creativeness than in actuality.”

Which is the place 20 seconds of braveness is available in!