Do you recognize that? A little voice in your head that says, ‘I don’t dare to do that’, ‘that isn’t for me’ or ‘it’s too scary’. A pity because this voice prevents you from discovering things, taking steps, experiencing adventures, and gaining experiences. If only you weren’t so frightened, you’d have a little more guts.

The good news? You can develop guts! In this blog, I give you tips to be more daring so that your world becomes bigger, and you can achieve much more than you thought, both personally and professionally.

What is guts?

Guts means having enough courage, conviction or resolve to do something. In other words, fearlessly taking risks without knowing what the outcome of your action will be but have enough confidence that whatever you have decided to do will work.

With guts you chase your dreams, you tackle difficult situations, you do not shy away from risks, and you do not let yourself be guided by fear of failure, fear of losing face, fear of being rejected.

Self-confidence is an important tool in this. And self-confidence means being positive about the outcome of your actions. Listen to your gut feeling and accept yourself. Be true to your own wishes and feelings.

Why do you need guts?

You need guts to make a change. Maybe you want to move somewhere, achieve something. You may also want to stop something. It can be small: you want to try oysters, for example. But it can also be big: you want to learn a new language, change jobs or have a relationship (or leave a relationship). If you don’t have [enough] guts, you won’t take any step and things will remain static.

How do you develop guts actually?

Developing guts depends on your own personality and the (cultural) environment that you are a part of, your family or the organization in which you work.

Do you need challenges, are you curious and inquisitive about the unfamiliar, or are you more focused on the known and safe? Courage is easier to develop if you have a lot of self-confidence, like to think and act independently and are not too conscientious.

And what about your environment? Are you encouraged to take risks? Or is that being punished? Can you actually make mistakes? The safer your environment feels, the easier it is to try things out. But regardless of personality or culture, you can always take steps to develop guts!

Tips

1. Examine your obstacles: why do you not dare to do something, what are you afraid of and is that actually realistic? Don’t just keep it to yourself, but discuss your barriers or fears with your partner, a friend or a coach.

2. Consciously give yourself permission to make mistakes. Appreciate yourself for trying, for going for it. See it as an opportunity to learn, grow and gain experience. You’ll see, those mistakes aren’t too bad. And if things don’t go well, you move forward learning something. On to the next discovery!

3. Enjoy the journey! The goal is not the destination, but the journey to it. Being on the road is fun, just take that journey, it will make you wiser.

4. Say more often: ‘I think….’, ‘I think…..’, ‘I think’. This encourages you to form an opinion, argue why you would want to do something (what benefit do you gain from a particular action) and to put the risks into perspective.

5. Analyze someone who has more guts. Look at their behavior, the risks they have taken and the consequences they had to bear. How did they learn to look at risks in their life? What was the determining factor in that?

6. Don’t say: ‘I think it’s scary’, but rather think: ‘mmm, exciting, and I’m going to do it, I’m looking forward to it!’ You can influence your mindset by the words you choose.

7. Look back at your life and what you have achieved so far. How did you do that? You must have taken some risks here and there, and it paid off!

8. And finally, it is always good to keep in mind that there is no alternative to doing, other than doing. So go for it!

About the author:

Monika Gogna is an international business consultant, mediator and a coach. Get in touch with her at [email protected].