Finding Your Courage in Unexpected Ways Using Journaling, Art, and Visualization

The following blog consists of excerpts from my workbook chapters that can be found under the ‘workbook’ tab.

Preparation For This Workbook Section on Courage

Please get out a journal or notepad and some art supplies; or, if you don’t like to draw, be prepared to cut out pictures from a magazine, use a photograph you’ve taken, write poetry that forms a ‘picture’, or use some other means to generate pictures.

Get comfortable and ready to use your imagination as we meet and explore your courageous Self.

If we use our imaginations, we can picture our courage and let it stand with us as a Guardian anytime we need someone to have our back. We can discover and use this amazing inner resource even as we resource our community. Humans are built for connection, both within their Selves and with other people. We are not meant to be or stand alone. So grab a throw, get comfortable, and let’s explore together.

We need courage in this big, beautiful world. At the same time, it can feel hard to be courageous when the world’s beauty feels sharp, and its bigness overwhelms us. 

I believe there is a vast difference between unconscious, unowned fear and conscious, owned fear. I think it is unconscious, unowned fear that divides us from our Selves, others, our heart, our growth, and what is truly meaningful and joyous in this life.

Fear is an important emotion, and we need it. Like all of our emotions, fear is meant to be our friend. Our fear keeps us alive by detecting risk and preparing the body to act quickly.

The problem with unconscious, unowned fear: If fear is unconscious, we can’t choose how we relate to it or how it might steer us from behind the scenes. We react rather than act from a place of awareness. But when we are conscious of and own our fear, we can do something remarkable. 

We can develop a healthy relationship with our fear.

Courage Often Involves Pre-Commitment

I like the idea that fear protects life and courage expands life. What is interesting is that both fear and courage mobilize action. Conscious, owned fear plus courage can powerfully partner to become goal-directed action where we know we face danger but continue toward it anyway.

Pre-commitment is what helps firefighters run toward fires and parents jump into traffic to save their child. Pre-commitment involves thinking about our fear ahead of time and asking ourselves hard, deep questions.

Part 1: A Time For Courage

Please Use Your Journal 

Note: You can answer these questions now and later after you’ve gotten better acquainted with your courage. 

The Pre-commitment Inventory: So ask yourself:

1. What matters the most to me?

2. What risks would I be willing to face?

3. What matters enough to me that I would act even if I were afraid? 

4. What matters enough to me that I would act and risk others disliking me or treating me with disrespect, such as laughing at me?

5. What matters enough to me that I would act and risk my status, wealth, or livelihood?

6. What matters enough to me that I would act and risk being hurt or even losing my life?

7. What kind of person do I want to be in difficult moments?

8. How will I feel about myself if I don’t commit to act? 

If we ask ourselves these questions, and learn to accept our fear as a part of us (but mostly not the boss of us), our fear stops being unowned and reactive. Instead, it becomes a part of who we are and how we may think about our identity. This is a beautiful moment, and when the dangerous moment arrives, our body and psyche are ready to answer.

Copyright © 2026 Dr. Julie E. Waters, Psy.D.

Find out more on how our courage can be our guardian in my FREE workbook linked here.