What is Bravery?

What does bravery mean to you? In my upcoming memoir, Every Day, I'm Brave I recount the moment in which I realized that bravery exists on a spectrum and I could finally, for once, place myself upon it.

I'd been so scared of so many things in my life, stuff most people don't think twice about: potlucks, second floors of a mall, the random and unlikely possibility that the floor beneath me will suddenly crumble. Lettuce. 

But there are things that others are afraid of that I'm willing to do or be around, nervous or not: get on stage to sing, quit a steady, well-paying job because it's just not personally fulfilling, bees.

I had spent years believing that I was one of the few that had phobias or other fears while the people around me ate with little to no worry or went for the promotion not worried about the travel or all day meetings they'd now be stuck in. I had partners that flew across the ocean without issue, or got on a roller coaster for the fun and thrill of it.

As I compared myself to those around me doing things that petrified me, I realized that there were things that I did every day that were brave. It wasn't skydiving or jungle adventures, but it was mustering up the courage to get in the shower despite the panic I feared or making it to work on time despite the gnawing ache in my heart.

So as we go through our days, there are a couple things I want us to remember:

1) Comparison is the thief of joy

2) We are all facing fears large and small

3) We can be brave, every day.

I love you. Keep going.