Moral Courage

The Gutsy Practice for Influencing What You Can't Control — at Work, Home, and Beyond

You can’t control the uncontrollable. What now?

Every day, we play a game to control others, options, and outcomes. But the game also plays us: the more we chase control, the less influence we have. The cost? Exhaustion.

That’s where moral courage comes in. It isn’t about being virtuous or fearless. Moral courage is the practice of standing up to your reactive brain so you’re showing up with steadiness. By responding rather than reacting, you also steady those around you. You generate something that control never can: trust.

Irshad Manji learned the hard way. As a warrior for her values, she set out to change minds. Instead, her body collapsed under the weight of her mission-driven urgency. While recovering, Manji realized that the toughest person to influence is almost always yourself.

Moral Courage introduces five skills, any one of which equips you to:

• reduce your impulsivity and the blowback it brings;
• create common ground even as you stand your ground; and
• expand your options in the midst disagreement.

As the next storm gathers, don’t shred your nervous system trying to change others.

Change the game.

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