We’re usually pretty aware of the micro decisions we make multiple times every day.
You know those small ones, like what to have for breakfast, which movie we’ll watch on our streaming service this evening, whether we’ll go to a party or not on the weekend, or perhaps which book to read next.
Some of our micro decisions are made with less thought and attention though, like what time to set the alarm, where we buy our bread, or what bus we take in the morning.
The stuff that becomes habit forming and we don’t think about unless…your usual shop is out of bread and you have to find an alternate plan or go without fresh bread (yet another micro decision!).
And then there are things like microaggressions. And micro communications. Even micro pigs!
And recently it got me thinking about courage. And in particular micro courage.
Courage is a big word. It’s enough to get the heart pumping a bit faster.
Just the idea of needing to tap into our courage can trigger all sorts of voices in our head, yelling “don’t do it, for the love of God!” Or maybe “Way to set yourself up for failure 🙄” Or perhaps “Who do you think you are? They’ll laugh you straight out of the room!”
But what if we think of courage as something small? A micro courage. Smaller than a micro pig, for sure.
Might we find drawing on it less daunting? Less scary?
I mean, a mini pig running towards you isn’t quite the same as a tusked wild boar, at least not in my eyes.
Think of it like this. An Air Force pilot once said that for every 1 degree a plane flies off course, it will miss its landing spot by 92 feet for every mile flown. It’s 3459 miles from London to New York City so a 1 degree adjustment would take you about 60 miles away from NYC.
Which could be a bad thing, if you really, really needed to be in NYC.
But…it could also be a good thing.
Because slight course adjustments and micro acts of courage can result in something very different, unexpected, and even spectacularly transformational.
So, contrary to people always telling you to “think big!”, if that’s too scary, maybe try thinking small. Micro small.
It feels safe, and the movement is forward.
Over time, your series of micro courageous acts and adjustments will have you somewhere you never imagined, and probably never thought would be a reality.
What is going to be your first act of micro courage today?
