Courage grows when we keep promises to ourselves Meaning Factcheck Usage

Context

In the book, this isn’t just a nice line. It’s a hard-won lesson during his arduous trek. The “promises” here are the small, grueling disciplines of the journey itself—putting one foot in front of the other when you’re exhausted, persisting when you want to quit. The courage he finds isn’t for slaying dragons, but for continuing the path.

Usage Examples

This is one of those concepts that’s incredibly practical. Think about it with:

• Aspiring Entrepreneurs: You don’t build courage to pitch to investors by just thinking about it. You build it by keeping the promise to make 5 sales calls today, or to finalize the business plan by Friday.
• Someone in a Rut: The courage to change your life starts with keeping the promise to go for a 10-minute walk, or to read 10 pages of a book. Small wins. They add up.
• Leaders & Managers: Your team’s courage to innovate comes from you keeping your promises to them. If you say you’ll have their back, and you do, you build a culture of psychological safety and bravery.

To whom it appeals?

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FAQ

Question: What if I fail to keep a promise to myself?

Answer: Don’t catastrophize. The key isn’t perfection; it’s the conscious effort and the quick recovery. Forgive yourself, understand why it happened, and recommit. The process itself builds resilience.

Question: How is this different from just building discipline?

Answer: Discipline is the mechanism, the action. Courage is the *result*. Discipline is doing the hard thing. Courage is the belief that you *can* do the next hard thing because you’ve proven it to yourself before.

Question: What’s a good “first promise” to start with?

Answer: Something laughably small. Truly. Promise yourself you’ll drink a glass of water first thing in the morning. Or make your bed. The success of doing it builds the momentum for bigger promises. Start small, win fast.