At a recent event where I was the guest speaker, the worship leader shared her testimony of how God had intervened in a challenging circumstance – all because she had summoned the courage to ask! English isn’t her first language and as she struggled to articulate exactly what had happened, she said, “All I needed was three seconds of courage!”
Those four words immediately resonated with me. She explained that three seconds of courage was the time it took for her to ask for prayer for a seemingly intractable issue. The ‘ask’ was way outside her comfort zone, given the unfamiliarity of the persons she was asking and the place she was leading in. Her testimony inspired me to think more deeply about the subject of quick courage: “Precisely how long does it take to act courageously?”
It is beyond the scope of this blog post to explore courageous leadership and there is an innumerable body of work that exists on this topic. No, what I am referring to is the less academic, quick-acting burst of personal courage, that leads us away from the shadow of self-doubt to respond to a problem or unresolved, wicked issue. I theorise that while others may interpret this as an act of madness, three seconds of courage could provide the catalyst for personal growth, unparalleled experiences and leadership development.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.”
J.K. Rowling
So, what does this look like?
It looks like you (and I) saying ‘yes’ to something that we would prefer to say “no” to. It’s the time it takes to raise a hand, take a haltering step forward or type the words…” sounds like a great opportunity”. Ok so if your word-processing skills are poor, it may take longer than three seconds, but you catch my drift?”
As women and certainly as women leaders in leadership whether in ministry or the marketplace, we sometimes take the default posture of ‘shrinking to fit’. We prefer to wait until someone else, whom we believe to be more gifted than we, fills the void that may very well be perfectly equipped for – if we would only be emboldened to attempt it.
Need a biblical reference? Think Nehemiah, (Nehemiah 2:4-5), Moses (Exodus 3:3-4) and Mary (Luke 10:38-42). For all, three seconds of courage and an “I’ll go for it” attitude, led to an invaluable experience.
So, what about you? If asked, could you courageously answer an uncertain “Yes”, rather than a definitive 0.3-second “No”? Three-second courage could stimulate your leadership growth.
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