“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.”

Maya Angelou

Courage = “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.”

I love the specific phrase “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person” from the definition above. How is the quality of your mind right now? What are you doing to enhance it? Do you know how or what to do to improve in this area? How can you demonstrate courage when needed if you aren’t intentionally caring for the quality of your mind or spirit daily?  

It is interesting to think that one needs courage to practice any other virtue consistently. But to have courage, one must have a strong quality of mind or spirit. To accomplish this seemingly circular argument, you must have the fortitude to look in the mirror and hold yourself accountable for doing whatever it takes to heighten the quality of your own spirit. If you don’t, then you are choosing by omission to live a weak life, lacking in courage…