Courage is a Habit,
but so is every other virtue.
We tend to think of courage as something required for big, life-changing moments, and we neglect to think of the everyday acts of bravery. These small daily acts of courage quietly shape who we are becoming, and it’s important to not overlook them. I recently started a new series on Instagram called Courage Is a Habit, where I reflect on this truth and the way courage is formed through ordinary acts of faithfulness.
Frankly, every virtue is a habit, and our everyday choices amount to eternity. I have become accustomed to practicing courage in my every day life, which is why I feel ready to share that journey with Instagram. However, there are so many other virtues that I can work on improving in my daily life. It’s easy to get caught in the cycle of “oh, it’s not that big of a deal,” but enough “not big deals” can impact our souls greatly.
I’ve been reading Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales, and his wisdom on temptation feels uncannily relevant.
Although we must fight against great temptations with an invincible courage… it may happen, nevertheless, that we gain more in manfully fighting against small ones. For, as great temptations exceed in quality, the small ones exceed in quantity, and for this reason, the victory over them may be comparable to that over the greatest.
Saint Francis suggests that the real work, the work that forms the soul, happens in the unnoticed places. We may face a few dramatic tests in life, but we face hundreds of small ones every single day: irritation, distraction, pride, impatience, comfort-seeking, and more.
Reading this alongside working on my courage series has made something click for me. I’ve known this for years, but there are still so many small struggles I tend to dismiss as insignificant. But nothing is insignificant.
These moments accumulate, and ultimately, they echo into eternity.
“It is an easy thing to abstain from murder, but it is extremely difficult to curb all our little bursts of passion.”
There is something both sobering and deeply hopeful about this.
Sobering, because nothing we do is truly trivial.
Hopeful, because holiness is not reserved for extraordinary people living extraordinary lives. It is accessible to anyone willing to be faithful in ordinary ones.
Eternity by a thousand yeses to God, or death by a thousand cuts.
It’s our choice to make.
WHAT I’M SIPPING
I’m backkkk! I knew my biggest challenge with Substack would be consistency, and it did not take long before I was proved correct. However, I am going to keep coming back and trying my best to exercise this part of my brain. Thanks for being here!
This week, I had a delicious brown sugar cardamom latte from Karol Coffee, a lovely little coffee shop in Saint Paul, MN named after Karol Wojtyła, otherwise known as Pope John Paul II. I totally recommend checking it out if you’re local in the Twin Cities.
Cheers! Until next week, happy sipping!
Your connection to Introduction to the Devout Life was rlly powerful. The quote about fighting small temptations almost being greater than facing big ones made something click for me too. It is so true that irritation, pride, and impatience show up daily. Those are the places where character is actually formed, even if no one sees it.
I also appreciated the way you framed it as hopeful. “Eternity by a thousand yeses” is such a beautiful image. It makes holiness feel practical and close, not distant or reserved for a select few. This piece made me want to pay more attention to the small choices I usually brush off.
And the brown sugar cardamom latte sounds incredible!!
Great thoughts. I’ve been reflecting a lot on courage lately. I appreciate this.