Fearless. It’s a word that gets used a lot. We are told to be fearless. We hold it up as an ideal to aim for. But fearlessness is a myth. If you want to succeed, if you want to live a more fulfilling life, you don’t need to be fearless. You need to be brave.

When you’re heartbroken and afraid to open your heart to the possibility of love, it is courage that empowers you to hope again.

When you’re burned out in your career and you have a dream that something better is possible, it is courage that empowers you to try something new.

When you’ve made poor money decisions or you’ve been blindsided financially and have to start over, it takes courage to believe it’s possible.

No matter your challenge or dream, you will face obstacles that cause doubt and fear to rise up. Every single time, make the decision to choose courage. And even if your first response is not courage, your second response can be. Over and over again, if we are to live authentic, full lives, we must choose courage.

So today, I challenge you to make this simple declaration: “I choose courage over fear.”