By Qarol Price
How often do you find yourself in situations where you must risk your own life to save someone else? Not too often, right? Some of us will live our whole lives without so much as the chance to rescue a stranded cat from a backyard tree. So why is courage one of the top moral qualities required of everyone? Why has Johnston County Public Schools devoted the whole month of April to the virtue of courage? I’m sure you already know: courage is needed for many more things than the risky business of lifesaving.
A great number of thinkers and scholars emphasize the importance of overcoming fears as a key factor in personal growth, well-being and success. Nearly 2,500 years ago, Aristotle wrote that overcoming fear is essential to achieving virtue and eudaimonia (human flourishing). Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) asserted that personal growth necessitates overcoming fear in order to achieve one’s Übermensch or higher self. Psychologist Carl Jung emphasized that confronting one’s fears (what he called the shadow self) is essential for personal development and individuation. And Carol Dweck, a behavioral scientist at Stanford University, asserts that fear of failure prevents learning.
So if fear is the disease, courage is the cure! But where does one get some?
As I write, I am enthusiastically engaged in what we Neuse River Writers are calling Open Mic March. As Communications Chair of the organization, I have undertaken the task of bringing the Selma Open Mic program out of hiatus and in to a new location. In anticipation of its re-opening on March 28 at the Harrison Center in Selma, our March writers meeting will be devoted to providing an Open Mic workshop led by community activist, local author and member, Cindy Brookshire. Those in attendance will receive pointers from Toastmasters veteran, local author and member, Dot la Motta. Participants will also have the opportunity to have their readings critiqued by a panel; and their performance recorded by award- winning documentary writer and producer, local author and member, Charles M. Clemmons.
In addition, the Open Mic March event invites us to reflect on our community’s April theme of courage. After all, some 75 percent of the public suffer from glossophobia, or fear of public speaking. Public speaking has a way of triggering several fears: fear of judgement, fear of failure and fear of rejection, to name a few. Possibly even more dreadful is the tell-tale sweating, shaking, stuttering and stammering. I for one am prone to getting a confounding case of dry mouth when I speak publicly off the cuff.
Open Mic provides, among other things, the opportunity to flex one’s courage muscles. The courage to perform in front of an audience, sure, but also the courage to bare intimate thoughts and feelings, revealing the authentic you – imperfections and all.
Performing at an Open Mic has the power to transform fear into excitement. Repeated practice shows that public speaking is about connection, not perfection. Pushing through it can lead to greater confidence, connection and self-discovery.
If grabbing a mic is not for you, consider supporting others in this courage building endeavor. It’s just good community service!
Next month: Honesty
