Sandra Walston | Claim Your Courage

Sandra Ford Walston, The Courage Expert
Sandra Ford Walston, The Courage Expert

Sandra Ford Walston claims the title of “The Courage Expert” because for years she has researched the full meaning of the word: first, from Aristotle, who called it the first of all virtues without which the others could not exist, then through its French roots, “from the heart and spirit,” and finally through the process of developing courage as a tool to take action.
Sandra feels it’s a feminine virtue and interviewed women for three years to write her first book on the subject, COURAGE: The Heart and Spirit of Every Woman/Reclaiming the Forgotten Virtue. Now, having written her third book, The COURAGE Difference at Work: A Unique Success Guide for Women, Sandra says women refuse to claim ownership of the word and thus the power it supplies for overcoming obstacles.

Culture’s Definitions Limit Women’s View of Courage

Our culture, pictured largely by the media, confuses bravery with courage. This limits women’s viewpoint of courage so much that only 11% of women see themselves as courageous, according to Sandra’s research. Women get stuck in the script designed for them and allow self-doubt to keep them from stepping out of bounds.
If they allow themselves to reflect on how they truly feel, they will realize that courage is an “inside job” they can rely on to help them do what is required, whether it’s speaking up about something that matters to them or overcoming an illness or loss. Sandra’s Source Wheel on her website show 12 behaviors of courage that lead us to take action.

Sandra’s Chapter is called, “How Women Can Hit the Bull’s-Eye with Courage (Every Time)”

In her essay in Leading Women, Sandra advises you to look to your true self and that will make hitting the bull’s eye deceptively simple. She gives similar advice in this interview and explains the ways that we try to make it difficult. If we would stop and examine the big defining moments in our lives, we would realize that our courage got us through it at the time. Whatever happened to us, whether it was loss of a job, confronting abuse or taking a risk we feared taking, our heart’s courage gave us the strength to persevere and go forward. Remembering this successful use of courage will get us through the next defining moment and so on. It’s not difficult when you stay courage-centered and aim for the bull’s-eye.

What is Your Courage-Consciousness Level?

We’re all at different levels of achieving courage-consciousness. Sandra says that women who had claimed their courage at work told her they had distinguished themselves by taking on the tough project that no one wanted.
Find out about more aspects of courage in this conversation and by checking out Sandra’s website, her books, newsletter and blog.

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