University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
The Courage Habit
Book

The Courage Habit

How to Accept Your Fears, Release the Past, and Live Your Courageous Life

Kate Swoboda
New Harbinger, 2018
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Kate Swoboda, director of the Courageous Living Coach Certification program, shares her journey and those of numerous clients to help you overcome the fear that stops you from living your dreams. She mixes anecdotes with written and reflective exercises and offers supportive online worksheets. Her exercises take time, but they’ll nourish new self-knowledge. Swoboda doesn’t repeat aphorisms or wave magic wands; she focuses on long-term, daily work. You can read the book quickly, but the work takes much longer. Nevertheless, it can only strengthen your self-awareness and your relationships. Managers, leaders and staff can apply her insights to challenge, understand and overcome their own self-doubt, fears and limitations.

 

Summary

Do You Want to Change?

Have ever felt stuck – or wanted to improve your career, marriage, health, or relationship with yourself? Whatever your impetus, you might fear change and what it can bring. The “Courage Habit” model provides specific steps you can use to understand what you truly want to change, why changing can be difficult and how to overcome the fear that blocks change. To achieve change, you must change your relationship with fear and with your internal critical voice, and then address some decades-old truths about life.

“Liberated Day”

To pinpoint specific elements of change, describe – by writing it down – a Liberated Day, a day when you live the life you want without limits. Be free with your thoughts, dreams and ideas while detailing what it would be like from morning until night. This exercise is not an action item list. It facilitates what living courageously as a state of being would look like for you.

A second writing exercise, “Honoring the Value of Courage,” explores what various areas of your life – family, friends, career and body – would be like if the bravest...

About the Author

Kate Swoboda founded YourCourageousLife.com and leads the Courageous Living Coach Certification program. Greatist.com named her one of the 50 top health, fitness and happiness bloggers.

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