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I am not a courageous person by nature. I have simply discovered that, at certain key moments in this life, you must find courage in yourself, in order to move forward and live. It is like a muscle and it must be exercised, first a little, and then more and more. All the really exciting things possible during the course of a lifetime require a little more courage than we currently have. A deep breath and a leap.
John Patrick Shanley
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Courage is not inherent but can be developed and must be practiced to overcome life's challenges.

This quote emphasizes that courage is not an innate trait but rather a skill that can be cultivated. It highlights the necessity of finding courage within oneself at critical moments in life, likening it to a muscle that needs to be exercised. As individuals face more challenges, they will often need to summon greater courage to achieve exciting and fulfilling experiences in life. The phrase 'a deep breath and a leap' suggests that sometimes taking risks requires both calmness and boldness.

Themes

CourageLifeGrowthStrengthOvercoming

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about overcoming personal challenges.

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