The Crime of Courage

It is unfortunate but true that while courageous deeds are often celebrated or cheered, courageous thoughts and ideas are usually discouraged or persecuted.

Right from childhood, we get used to holding back from taking certain actions, or thinking certain thoughts, as a result of our parents’ disapproval of such thoughts and actions.

You’ll hear words like; “don’t touch it”, “don’t try it”, or “I’ll whip your bum bum”, and many more.

While parents do this with the best interest of their children in mind, they inadvertently limit their children’s chances to stand out in life. In other words, their well-intentioned actions have unintended consequences.

Unsurprisingly, the world is full of grown men and women who are too afraid to take bold steps in life. The excuses usually are; “it is too risky”, “what if it doesn’t work?”, “what will people say?”, “people will laugh at me”, and many more.

Now, from childhood to adulthood, we have been conditioned to favour the ‘easy way’ in our life’s choices and decisions. According to research, we’re wired to take the path of least resistance. We tend to do that which is easiest, often to the neglect of that which is best. It takes going against this natural inclination, to stand out in life.

Have you ever shared an idea with a friend or even a family member, of something great you want to do, and they tell you; “it’s not possible”, or they say; “this is Nigeria, these things can’t work here”. And if you persist with the idea, you begin to experience some backlash for not taking their advice?

Once again, I’ll like to stress that some of these people have your best interest in mind. They just don’t know the wrong they’re doing.

We are made to feel like criminals, and our crime is thinking big.

For some others, they’re surrounded by people with ‘small minds’, who feel intimidated by anyone who dares to do great things.

If you think big, be careful to not do it around small minds, you’ll get persecuted with envy, hatred, name-calling, backbiting, and so on. And it’s capable of pulling you down.

The persecution people face for daring to do big is one fundamental reason why there are too many unsuccessful people and very few people at the top of the ladder in the world today.

According to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2018, the top 1% of adults account for more than 47% of household wealth globally. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is staggering.

I sometimes say to myself; if thinking big is a crime, I choose to remain a criminal.

Life is survival of the fittest, but success of the courageous. To survive you need to fit in, but to succeed, you need to stand out.

In the end, the people you choose to mingle with, the advice you choose to take, will influence the decisions you make and actions you take. And these will determine whether you get to the top of the ladder of life, or remain at the overcrowded bottom.

If courage is a crime, I choose to remain a criminal.