1 Courage

determination despite the risks

Courage is determination to do something despite the risks. To work against opposition toward a goal. For instance, it takes courage to step off the curb and pull an absent-minded pedestrian back from the path of the bus. A person with courage accepts that may mistakes occur, but also that a person who never makes a mistake is the person who does nothing.

Goals

To critically assess …

• The meaning of bravery, persistence, and integrity
• How these virtues inspire others, such as courage and duty
• Ways related words of wisdom guide appropriate action
• How to resolve realistic scenarios based on wisdom in the topics

Bravery

Bravery is showing courage even if you feel apprehensive, even if you feel fear. The opposite is cowardice.

• She put on a brave face and calmly rolled up her sleeve for the flu shot.
• The short route to confidence is to do what you are afraid to do.

Bravery may mean going it alone or clearing a path for others to follow.

• One person with courage makes a majority.
• Success depends more on self-reliance than on external aide.

Based on the Wisdom in this Topic

Case of the Reclusive Winner

How best can the niece help her aunt be brave? 

• AUNT. I won the lottery and I lost my privacy. The winning ticket was met with a parade of salespeople and those seeking handouts. I replaced the welcome mat with a “no solicitors” sign. Even so, one fellow pretended to slip on my icy walkway and demanded a financial settlement.
• NIECE. After the ice walk incident, my aunt put up a high fence and became a recluse. She cancelled all deliveries and seldom went out unless necessary. Hearing townspeople speak of the woman as miserly, I am at a loss for what to do. Who knew winning could come at such as cost?

Case of the Treasure Dig

What course of action is wisest for friends excavating for buried treasure?

• NOEL. We wandered around the island and found a sunken area beside a tree on which hung the remains of large wooden pulleys. With visions of pirate treasure, we started digging. One meter down we found flagstones with obscure symbols. At 3 m we hit a layer of oak logs. At 6 m we met a layer of coconut fibre. Every 3 m brought some artifact, but no treasure. At 30 meters the pit filled with water from a bamboo pipe running to a nearby cove. Difficulties make an individual bitter — or better. I say we keep digging.
• LEON. We could go further with pumps and proper digging equipment. Even so, there is no guarantee of treasure for the investment of our personal savings. So far injuries have been limited to scrapes and bruises, but we’re becoming tired and increasingly concerned about the walls collapsing. The road well traveled is not necessarily the right road. Sometime you have to turn around. I think this is such a time. 

Case of the Flood Gate

What is the best way to deal with clearing dangerous jamming debris? 

• COUNCILLOR. Record snowfall and spring rains have the old wooden dam overflowing. It wasn’t built to bear this much water. Now the flood gate is jammed with tree debris. 
• MAINTENANCE. Each spring thaw the council talks of building a modern dam, but they forget as the surge recedes. This time, use of machinery isn’t practical. Somebody will have to swim down into the murky waters to clear the tree debris. It is a dangerous job in many ways, but the alternative is to risk the dam bursting.

Persistence

Persistence is voluntary continuation of action toward a goal despite obstacles, difficulties, or discouragement. It beings with determination. 

Determination is being firmly decided to do something. 

• The would-be sleeper was determined to find the noisy cricket and toss it outside. 
• Landing on Mars took a lot of hard work and determination.

Determination is the will to see it and see it through. 

• Curious people ask questions; determined people find answers.
• Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.

Commitment is a relationship of dedication to a cause. 

• It creates a relationship that others can rely upon, yet restricts the freedom of those in the commitment. 
• A mortgage on a house is a commitment to make payments. 

Commitment turns promised ideas into productive results.

• We are our choices, making us our best and worst teacher.
• We cannot do everything at once, but if committed we can do something at once.

Endurance is dealing with difficult or opposing circumstances. 

• Running a marathon, for instance, requires both mental and physical endurance to overcome the pain and desire to rest. 
• As you aspire, others will conspire; as you try, others will vie.

To endure, pick yourself up one more time than you fall down.

• The only time you must not fail is the last time you try.
• Just because it has a name does not mean it has a cure — sometimes endurance is coping.

Tenacity is being persistent, determined. 

• For example, researchers tenaciously pursued the origin of the disease. 
• The symbol of tenacity is an arch. An arch never sleeps.

Tenacity sticks with it, a little at a time or waiting for the right time.

• Impossible in a single bound, but simple in steps.
• Every time history repeats itself, the price goes up.

Diligence is taking care, paying attention, and working hard. 

• For example, it might be possible to finish a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle in one day with diligence and perseverance. 
• Diligence was essential in bidding at the auction, given the high stakes and ruthless competition.

Diligence proceeds by care and knows when not to proceed.

• Digging for facts is better exercise than jumping to conclusions.
• Never wrestle with a pig; you get dirty and, besides, the pig likes it.

Perseverance is sticking with it despite difficulty or delay or working calmly and carefully to complete a task. 

• For example, despite interruptions from a couple of hecklers, the comedian persevered with his routine and was rewarded with an ovation. 
• Building a ship in a bottle or learning how to walk again after an accident — both require that one persevere.

Persevere, for trying times are not time to quit trying.

• Better to fail at doing something than succeed at doing nothing.
• The person who has a ‘why’ to live can bear with almost any ‘how.’

Persistence is ongoing effort despite the difficulty, or enduring for a prolonged period.

• The persistent sales clerk showed one shoe after another despite the customer’s reluctance to buy.
• Repeatedly rejected by publishers, the aspiring novelist persisted in sending out manuscript.

Persistence often prevails when all else fails. Failure, it is said, takes the path of least persistence

• A great oak is only a little nut that held its ground.
• Winners never quit; quitters never win.

Resolution is making a decision and sticking to it, having a purpose and being determined to achieve it. 

• For example, they resolved to land on the moon by the end of the decade. 
• Firefighters resolved to rescue the frightened kitten stuck in a tree.

Resolution is a decision and a direction, moving forward.

• Life is like a bicycle: keep moving forward or you will wobble.
• We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

Steadfastness is remaining determined, unwavering. 

• For instance, the hens stood steadfast against the intruder, trusting that strength lay in their numbers.
• She took her place at the front of the bus and steadfastly refused to move.

Steadfast can also express consistency, staying the course.

• The problem is often not inability, but inconsistency.
• “Have” and “have-nots” are often related to “did” and “did-nots.”

Based on the Wisdom in this Topic

Case of the Tribal Chiefs

How should two game-show chiefs deal with their conflicting commitments?

• RED CHIEF. The reality game show pits our two teams against one another in a primitive, tribal setting. Each tribe selects a chief. I am chief of Red Tribe. The tribe winning a challenge gets to vote any one member of the opposite tribe out of the game.
• BLUE CHIEF. I developed a set of tactics that could put my tribe ahead and might advance me to the finals. However, I was voted off by my tribe before these plans could be carried out. Those left were reluctant to take on the role of new chief, feeling they too could be ousted by somebody putting personal interests before those of the tribe.

Case of the Night Cat

How best can campers deal with a bobcat intent on getting into their tent?

• NOEL. We set up a lean-to tent, built a campfire, and caught trout in the brook. During the night we were startled by a prowling bobcat. Bobcats usually shy away from people. This one may have rabies or want something in our tent. Maybe us.
• LEON. Banging pans, the cat retreats, but keeps coming back. I think that the bobcat mistakes our bundled sheepskin blanket for a sheep. I want to sacrifice the blanket for some sleep. Noel has no interest in opening the tent, even if only to toss out a blanket.

Case of the Anxious Interview

What course of action is best for the candidate recovering from a false start?

• CANDIDATE. During an election campaign, I was interviewed by a news station often favourable to the opposing political party. Nervous, I found the interviewer’s question confusing and needed several retakes. That made me anxious, but I was told that the false starts would not be broadcast.
• NEWS EDITOR. One of our news agency’s affiliated TV stations did broadcast the interview uncut. The candidate made a reply video, trying to explain, but it was rushed and poorly made. The candidate lost the election. Some supporters doubt whether their candidate can regain credibility. Others think the incident shows the candidate can put up with the unexpected in political life and should run again.

Integrity

Integrity, authenticity, and honesty have to do with being true to ourselves. Taking responsibility for our feelings and behaviour.

Authenticity refers to being genuine or credible or true to original values. 

• Her signature is authentic.
• This restaurant serves authentic Mexican food.

Authenticity is knowing the trade, not just tricks of the trade.

• Do not choose to be wrong for the sake of being different.
• Facts do not cease to exist just because they are ignored.

Duty is what one is required or expected to do. 

• If you borrow the neighbour’s lawnmower, for example, you have a duty to return it in the same condition. 
• Misdeeds and missed deeds are the errors of commission and omission.

Duty can have an historical context. 

• Judge an activity by standards of its day, not by those of another.
• It is easy to raise doubt about duties that we do not want to perform.

Nobility is having impressive qualities or showing high ideals. 

• For example, donating bone marrow is a noble gesture that could save a life. 
• When people are mean, prove you are strong by keeping your cool. (Similarly, there are occasions when one must be silent in order to be heard.)

Nobility is characteristic of leadership.

• Leaders are identifiable by their contributions, not by their titles.
• Leadership is the ability to make people want to follow voluntarily.

Honesty is telling the truth in context, by what was intended. 

• Technically this car was only driven by a little old lady from the suburbs. But in all honesty she drives real fast and she drives real hard. She’s a terror from driveway to boulevard.
• The “Pay When You Can” sign on the staffroom honour-system snack bar relies on staff members paying up by next payday.

An honest answer, if not literal, is open about what is intended.

• A half-truth is a whole lie.
• We lie not to deceive others, but to conceal the truth we won’t accept.

Righteousness has to do with action considered justifiable, acting with good cause. 

• For example, she is righteously upset — having been wrongly convicted and served a sentence she didn’t deserve. 
• Protest marches against police brutality are a righteous expression of democracy.

The righteous do what is right; that gratifies some people and astonishes the rest.

• Our own dirt always seems cleaner.
• Some would rather stay lost than ask for directions.

Based on the Wisdom in this Topic

Case of Viral Attention

How best can a music group be authentic when seeking the media spotlight? 

• MUSIC AGENT. The pop music industry is crowded. So much so that some performers are as happy with the publicity of being notorious as being famous. 
• LEAD SINGER. Our group decided to do an interview as if under the influence of psychotropic drugs. We have hopes of getting a viral video that with make us famous.

Case of the Voter Turnout

Should voting be treated more as a right or more as a duty of citizens?

• NOEL. Few people voted in the last national election. Let’s make voting required, with fines for those who do not vote. Have a “none of the above” option, but voting would be required or fined.
• LEON. Voting must remain voluntary. There is a duty to be informed about the issues and vote if you want to. And, after all, voters always seem to show up in close elections or over disputed topics.

Case of the Rowdy Party

How can a deputy best handle an awkward situation with one of his own?

• COTTAGER. This is cottage country. People expect quiet. The beach party got louder all day. Now it is late at night, there are fireworks, and what sounds like gun shots. Somebody might get hurt. The deputy showed up and I think someone tossed fireworks on the cruiser. 
• DEPUTY. I was called to quiet the party, but it turns out there were gun shots — from the Sheriff. She seems intoxicated so there’s no talking sense into her. I need to safely take her into custody. However, I am the area’s only officer on duty tonight; there is no backup.

Vitality

Vitality refers to an enthusiastic, well-adapted energy for life.

Adaptability is being able to change to suit the circumstances.

• For instance, an amphibious vehicle has features of both car and boat, allowing it to adapt to land or water.
• We adapt to changes in where we live, with whom we live, changes in health and wealth.

Survival requires the ability to adapt to diversity. To learn what works. Equally as important, to learn what doesn’t work.

• To learn from losing is to begin to win.
• One who makes a mistake but does not correct it errs twice.

Circumstances change, sometimes through no act of our own.

• It is up to us to decide whether to change with them.
• Left to our own, we grow neither better nor worse as we age, but more like ourselves.

Ambition is the desire to be successful or achieve a goal. 

• For example: his ambition since childhood was to be a race car driver. 
• Humans have two primal passions: to get and beget.

But being first is not as important as being right.

• Failure is an opportunity to start over, wiser than before.
• The light of desire tends to blind a person to arguments against.

Enthusiasm is excited, energetic interest or motivation. 

• For example, team members are likely to play with enthusiasm before their hometown crowd. 
• People support what they help create.

Enthusiasm is contagious — and so is the lack of it.

• With interest comes energy.
• Accept the circumstances, then seek to overcome them.

Vitality is the ability to thrive; wanting to live and grow; being able to develop and mature. 

• Seeds landing on the soil were vital and grew into hearty plants, while those landing on sand withered soon after spouting. 
• That which is not growing is dying.

To stay vital, stay useful.

• We don’t grow old; we become old by not growing.
• It is of little value to be on track, but headed in the wrong direction.

Based on the Wisdom in this Topic

Case of Print Prices

What is best action for the printing department to adapt to economic times?

• MANAGER. When the printing department started we were using mimeograph machines. Then came photocopying and laser printing. Today they even print 3D prototypes of machine parts with stereolithography. We’ve been the innovators and innovations brings new customers.
• PUBLISHER. New technology requires a lot of trial and error before figuring out efficient use of resources. Printing costs just keep going up. Perhaps it is time for other printers to take the leading edge — sometimes called the “bleeding edge” due to the cost of being first.

Case of Etiquette Error

How would you advise the diplomat to deal with an apparent set-up situation?

• DIPLOMAT. I was sent to a Lilac Island in hopes of improving political relations. The objective was discussions that could lead to economic trade between our two countries. The culture of Lilac Island is new and strange to me.
• REPORTER. Apparently the diplomat was given incomplete and misleading information, perhaps to sabotage diplomatic discussions. There was awkwardness over greetings, dining habits, and appropriate attire. The embarrassed diplomat was chosen by a high ranking official, who possibly knew the diplomat was unprepared.

Case of Vitality Statistics

What is the best way to use information if vitality could be quantified?

• DOCTOR. Grace Amazing hospital has software that measures vitality. It can also calculate the probability that a patient will live or die. It uses blood pressure, age, and many other factors with a large database of cases. The result is a prediction, highly accurate. Originally, our hospital used the program to study which treatment methods are more effective than others, looking for trends in vitality.
• PATIENT. Some administrators and medical staff want to use this software for other uses. One to decide which patients are more critical and in urgent need of care. Another is to inform relatives whether or not to give treatment to a patient; that is, whether to “pull the plug”.