by Godfrey Malongo
Many take on bravery as enormous acts of heroism, taking up peace-keeping missions in the army, coming out of the closet, being a healthcare worker in a pandemic as covid-19, and many other acts that deserve flowers and gold. But bravery, which can be described as a spirit that enables you to face danger or pain or atrocity without showing signs of fear should also be looked up in the small random unappreciated acts. Here are some of the acts that you have to applaud yourself for the undertaking. Tap yourself on the back for being brave.
5 times you have been brave and didn’t even know it
1. I am lost, could you please help?
This first act is one of the most overlooked. Asking for directions from a random person or stranger in the street. For a person who would describe themselves as introverted and shy, it takes “great balls” to even say hello to someone they don’t know. So if you’re able to do this, bless yourself with flowers, you are so couragous.
2. I ain’t gon sugarcoat honey….
Telling people close to you about things they “need” to hear rather than what they “want” to hear. Most people are afraid of messing up relationships and friendships because of saying something that would make their partner sad or angry. So instead, they say what’s supposed to be heard, even if it’s not right. As such, if you ever do the former, applaud yourself you beautiful soul.
3. I dress for me….
Dressing what you like and how you like it despite what the rules say. I know most of you are relating this to women’s dressing but let me give an unusual example. If you are male and you dress out of what is expected of you, get your gold king. Dressing in an all-pink attire unapologetically, because that’s what you want and it makes you feel good is an act that a few men are brave enough to take on.
4. Politically wrong, brave-ly right
Writing and talking about things no one is ready to talk about.I’m only guest writing on this site but a few days ago, the author of this site posted about Malawi’s unresolved political cases, in a country where a lot of people do not talk or write about such and that’s BRAVE. Some days, I write such things on my social media but I end up deleting them because I’m not brave enough. If you are able to write and talk about such, salute.
5. I respect you, but you’re wrong
Standing up to your superiors including your parents. Societal standards have made us believe that we cannot talk back to our seniors or elders and I respect that. Usually, when these so called superiors are acting in a way that does not resonate with you, we usually do not stand up to their actions in the name of respect. But when you ever stand up to them, get your bravery points, because not everyone is able to do so.
These were just few of the many random acts of bravery that are underappreciated and I felt the need of highlighting some of these to brighten up your day and make you feel good about yourself. You are brave in your own way and celebrate that. If you have other small random acts of bravery, be sure to leave comments below.
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO TAP YOURSELF ON THE BACK FOR BEING BRAVE.
These are great examples of bravery in action. To point number 3, I always think of Billy Porter, a man who dresses anyway he wants, not caring at all what other people might think. He’s my hero in many ways 🙂 Thank you for sharing your thoughts. (Thanks also for linking to my blog post. That was very kind of you).