When we have the courage to walk into Meaning Factcheck Usage

Context

In Dare to Lead, she’s talking directly to leaders. The context isn’t fluffy self-help; it’s about the tough, practical work of building brave cultures. She argues you can’t write a brave ending for your team or organization if you haven’t first had the courage to own your own story.

Usage Examples

I use this as a mental model all the time. For instance:

• For a team lead who’s dealing with a project that failed. Instead of hiding from it, they can “walk into” that story with their team—own the mistakes, analyze the learnings—and together, they “write the ending” by creating a new, smarter process.
• For someone in their career who feels stuck because of a gap in their resume or a job they were let go from. This quote pushes them to reframe that chapter not as a stain, but as a pivotal part of their journey that taught them resilience, leading to a stronger “ending” in their next role.
• In personal life, maybe there’s a difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding. Owning your part in the conflict is “walking into the story.” How you choose to show up and communicate from that point forward is you “writing the ending.”

To whom it appeals?

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FAQ

Question: What if my story is full of trauma or things that were genuinely not my fault?

Answer: Such a crucial question. “Owning” your story doesn’t mean taking blame for things that were done to you. It means accepting that those experiences are part of your narrative and deciding, with agency, how you integrate them and how you allow them to shape—or not shape—your future. It’s about owning your *response* and your healing.

Question: This sounds like just positive thinking. Is it?

Answer: Not at all. In fact, it’s the opposite. Positive thinking often involves bypassing the hard stuff. This is about leaning into the hard stuff with courage. It’s gritty, uncomfortable work, not just wishful thinking.

Question: How is this different from just learning from your mistakes?

Answer: It’s a deeper level. Learning from a mistake is tactical. Owning your story is identity-level. It’s not just “I learned not to do X again.” It’s “The person I am now is wiser and more capable because of that experience, and I will carry that forward intentionally.”