What makes a person courageous?Psychology has been analyzing this dimension for years, the consensus, however curious, is that bravery is as simple as making things happen, it’s about generating positive change, even in difficult situations. circumstances, in situations where others would surrender.
Martin Seligman, a driver of positive psychology, emphasized that bravery is the dimension that acts as one of the most healing elements during therapy, and has genetic, educational and environmental roots.
- Parents often teach their children a proactive attitude to life to remind them that sometimes they have to put fear aside to achieve their goals.
- That courage.
Therefore, Seligman sees it as an essential part of the therapeutic process, it must be born from the work between the professional and the effort of the patient, so, when a person makes a change, it is clear that he has learned to value his own determination. In other words, you’ll have enough motivation to transform your life.
It is there that you decide to form and reach a new stage where you will feel more control and security to achieve well-being. It’s the best courage of all, the most rewarding.
The scientific literature says that courage is the result of a primary fight against emotions such as fear, from a neurobiological point of view, it is about regulating the influence of the amygdala, the region of the brain linked to the most intense emotions. the same one that paralyzes us and diverts our thoughts when taking power.
Similarly, it’s also about improving areas like the prefrontal cortex, linked to decision-making, reflection and planning, and attention to environmental stimuli without the influence of fear or anxiety, in fact, much of the research available on such behaviors comes from the military sphere (Neria, Solomon, Ginzburg and Dekel (2000)) and from accounts in which some soldiers committed heroic acts when they were in great danger.
“I just stayed calm and did what I had to do,” says many of these young men trained to act in risky situations. But what about civilians?
Drs. Uhri Kugel and Catherine Haussman conducted a study at Oxford University in which they revealed data that deserves to be known. Let’s see them.
Courage makes things happen because, with it, change is promoted. In addition, the courage is to focus on a goal in the midst of adverse circumstances. And no, you don’t need to be a hero fighting dragons. According to current science, courage is a cognitive skill that everyone can learn and apply.
Basically it is about inflamed the will to act despite fear, to be able to look at uncertainty and doubt, and then to act, something like this can be achieved by working with the following dimensions:
Franco, Blau and Zimbardo (2011) defined courage as the ability to act prosocially despite personal risk, there have now been some criticism of this definition, as bravery does not always come from saving others, but courage is primarily necessary to save you.
As Martin Seligman pointed out, for psychological therapy to be effective it is necessary to awaken the courage, that is, to ignite the determination to overcome fears, limitations and insecurities, in this way you will feel more able to achieve what you want. In addition, you can make changes that bring you closer to happiness.
As they say, people usually live in faith and hope, but what can really transform your reality is action, because courage is a mixture of emotions, thoughts and feelings oriented to advance, to promote something positive, either for you or for you. others, it is worth considering.