Though I am not 100% fearless 100% of the time, practicing pluckiness on a regular basis grows courage. And even though I will never eliminate every molecule of timidity that resides inside my body, every time I cast down a fearful thought and replace it with a courageous thought, I have one less fear residing inside of me. 

Living An Expansive Life

I collect quotes and recently I came across one which inspires me to continue to live with more pluckiness and less lily-livideredness. In essence the quote said that without courage, life gets smaller, but with courage, life grows more expansive. 

These words resonate with me because I know from personal experience that when I am afraid, fear holds me back from knocking on a new door, or walking through an unfamiliar door that opens.  

Stepping away from our cowardly, cringing thinking requires grit, spunk and great-heartedness. We need power and courage to meet life head on without giving way to anxiety. 

To have courage is to wean ourselves from the habit of worrying, to hold our ground when our convictions are challenged, and to share our opinion even if it is not popular without having to say we are sorry.  

Practicing pluckiness does not mean we are vain. Plucky people admit when they are wrong, learn from their mistakes and ask to be forgiven when they’ve unintentionally offended someone. 

But, if I do not want to be squeezed into a societal mold or live contrary to my values and convictions, then I need courage to live contrary to the general populace of conformity.  

Why bother practicing pluckiness? Plucky people live expansive lives and live in the way they were meant to live without fear and with a well-balanced mind.