Courage in the Line of Fire

Courage is when you are shaking in your boots and saddle up anyway. (John Wayne)

I probably know a thing or two about therapy. I certainly know what it means to have the carpet pulled beneath your legs leaving you falling into a bottomless pit. In my job as a financial strategist I have to step up when markets go against me, and one of these prior episodes must have cut me to the bone.These days I am shaking in my boots much more often than I used to. Now when I am caught on the wrong side of the trade I experience fear and depression way more intensely than I have ever before.  I show symptoms that others would probably describe as Post-Traumatic-Stress-Symptom.

Yet, thus far at least, I am not shell-shocked in the line of fire. My co-author Su Zhen tells me that I am stupid for continuing in my profession. She might be right but I still feel I have a mission to complete no matter what the psychological costs end up being. Like John Wayne did in his movies, I feel energized when the bullets are flying, figuratively speaking of course. The WAY guilds me through this ordeal and I feel at home doing what I am doing.

The WAY sends me through therapy. When the ego fights for survival the observer learns priceless lessons. We shouldn't be stubborn, but we shouldn't shy away from life's problems either. So when you find yourself shaking with fears, chances are you too should saddle up and ride right into the eye of the storm.