Courage is how you prioritize your values.
Most definitions of courage describe it as the ability to overcome fear. These definitions frame courage through what it is against. What is courage for? What is someone overcoming fear in service of? Their values.
Both fear and courage arise from values. Fear is a normal response to threat. If what was threatened had no value, there would be no fear. Only when we value what is threatened is there fear. Fear reveals our values.
Courage arises when we value protecting what is threatened more than the cost of protecting it. If protecting a value costs nothing, no courage is required. The more one risks, the more courage is required. It is easy to be “brave” when nothing is risked and harder when it costs someone.
Threats also reveal values, since threatening another usually contains an element of risk that the other might fight back. The bravery required to be threatening depends on the power disparity between the threat and those threatened. Threatening the weak is bullying. Threatening the powerful is rebellious.
Pressure campaigns are attempts to test another’s values. Does a person value the act pressure is intended to stop more than being banned from certain spaces, relationships, financial opportunities, etc.? When someone doesn’t value what is threatened, they cave. When they do value it, they show courage.
Courage is just the prioritization of values. If you value a loved one more than your life, you would risk your life to save them. Most would call risking your life to save another “courage,” yet many of those same courageous people would not risk their lives for mere money. If one were to price out what each person would risk for what reward, it would reveal a fairly accurate picture of their values.
Cowardice also reveals values. When someone retreats, they show they do not care enough to fight for what they surrender. Stated values do not always match revealed preferences. To understand what someone values, look at their actions, not their words. Those who behave cowardly value only their own self-preservation. Those who show courage have higher values. Judging by the actions of most, there is precious little courage in the world.
If you want to increase your courage, figure out what you value.
P.S. You can show that you value my writing by subscribing and sharing it: