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Home | Human Flourishing | Change Archive | Courage to Become

Desire to Become

BY: T. Franklin Murphy | November 2018 (edited December 13, 2021)
A little boy with a full grown man shadow. A Flourishing Life Society article on achieving dreams
Adobe Stock Images
To achieve our dreams, we must courageously take on the anxiety of change, moving from the ordinary, and doing something more.
We have a great conflict. We desire to grow, achieve, and become. I believe everyone has desires. We dream of brilliant futures but live ordinary lives. We can blame and just wallow in our mundane world or we can achieve the better future we seek.

We are lazy. We naturally seek to conserve energy whenever possible, flowing effortlessly with current practices. Life is more predictable when we move with set trajectories. The battle between desires and energy conservation rages. One of these opposing drives dominates and determines our path. We may alter from time to time—no course is set. The battle is not over in our twenties or thirties. Through awareness and careful nurturing, we can commit to growth, pushing to new heights.
"To venture causes anxiety, but not to venture is to lose one's self.... And to venture in the highest is precisely to be conscious of one's self.”
Søren Kierkegaard
Becoming has never been and will never be a practice of the slothful. We can’t wait for feelings to motivate more action; we must act to motivate better feelings. We spend too much effort trying to soothe the spirit and not enough effort to achieve our desires. Sometimes we feel like sitting but should stand. Sometimes we fee like hiding but should communicate. We must fight behaviors that perpetuate growth inhibiting tendencies.
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​The courage to become remains a part of our human existence, even if the courage lied dormant for years. The past does not have to determine the future. Religious philosopher, Paul Tillich, challenges us to courageously take on our own anxiety (Tillich 2005, pg. 22). We all have anxieties over limitations to strength, intellect, and skill. We worry we are not sufficient to achieve the greatness of our dreams. We must courageously face the anxiety of insufficiency and move forward, gaining wisdom in failures and fortifying our weak spots. We must awaken and become.

(Adapted and edited from an 2011 FLS post)
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Resources:

Tillich, P. (2005) The New Being. Bison Books. Kindle Edition

​Other Flourishing Life Society articles of interest on this topic:

Five Life Changing Wellness Discoveries. A Flourishing Life Society article link
Uncertainty Avoidance. A Flourishing Life Society article link
The Law of Consistency. A Flourishing Life Society article link
Workable Plan. A Flourishing Life Society article link
A Flourishing Life Society article link. Fear of Failure
We Try. Courageously Doing Our Best. A Flourishing Life Society article image link
Experiencing Fear. Do We Stay and Fight? or Turn and Run? A Flourishing Life Society article link
FLS Link. Courage to Change.
Self-Actualization. A Flourishing Life Society article link
FLS Link: Creating a New Life.
Learning and Uncertainty. A Flourishing Life Society article image link
FLS Link: Change is a four-letter word. We are threatened by the need to adapt; but successful maneuvering through the complex demands of an ever-moving world requires a flexing and adaptable approach. We must change, sacrificing some of our specialness for a happier and better existence.
Primal World Beliefs. A Flourishing Life Society article image link
Masters of Living. Successful Living. A Flourishing Life Society article link
Building a foundation of wisdom and skill to manage the unpredictable encounters in life.
Trying to feel better is a formidable challenge for many. The well-being industry has many theories. Success requires finding proven paths and patiently working towards a better life.
Desire to Become. Courageously Facing the Unknown.
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