Trait 6 - Courage
A short talk on acting through fear when you move abroad, from showing up to events alone to speaking a language you're still learning.
- Free
- Recorded webinar
- 3 min
- October 2, 2025
About this session
This short talk covers courage, which it defines as taking action even when you feel fear or uncertainty. Moving abroad brings plenty of unknowns, including a new language and unfamiliar systems. The speaker describes visiting Barcelona before moving there and going alone to several meetings of a local artist group without knowing anyone. It worked out well.
Then the talk turns practical. It gives ways to build courage, such as a weekly brave act and a 1-to-10 fear scale, and closes with journaling prompts about the fears holding you back.
Key takeaways
- Do one small brave thing each week, such as talking to somebody new, trying something unfamiliar or sharing your plan out loud.
- Use a courage scale: rate your fear from 1 to 10, and take action if it's below a seven.
- Adopt a courage mantra, such as "done is better than perfect" or "I can do hard things."
- Speak the local language even if you're afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are part of the learning process, and most people are kind and appreciate that you are trying.
- Reframe discomfort as evidence that you're growing, not failing, and reflect on past courageous moments to remind yourself of your strength.
- For reflection, ask yourself what fears are holding you back and what one tiny step you could take anyway.
- Going to a social event alone can pay off. Before moving to Barcelona, the speaker attended several meetings of a local artist group, met new people and began to feel there was a community to join after the move.
Chapters
Questions from the session
Does having courage to move abroad mean not feeling afraid?
No. Courage doesn't mean you never feel fear. It means you act anyway, even when things feel intimidating. Every time you face a fear, you prove to yourself that you can handle uncertainty, which is a strong foundation for life abroad.
How can I build courage before moving abroad?
Do one small brave thing each week, like talking to somebody new, trying something unfamiliar or sharing your plan out loud. Reflect on past courageous moments to remind yourself of your strength, and adopt a mantra such as "done is better than perfect" or "I can do hard things."
How do I decide whether to act when I'm scared?
Use a courage scale. Rate your fear from 1 to 10, and take action if it's below a seven.
What if I'm afraid of making mistakes when speaking the local language?
Speak it anyway. Anyone who has learned another language has made mistakes, because they're part of the learning process. Most people are kind and appreciate that you are trying. Take it in stride and know that you will get better the more you practice.
Transcript
Auto-generated from the session’s captions and lightly corrected; it may contain errors.
Read the full transcript(394 words)
Hello. In this video, we are going to talk about courage. The willingness to take action even when you feel fear or uncertainty. Moving abroad is exciting, but it's also filled with unknowns, a new language, unfamiliar systems, cultural differences, and the possibility of things not going as planned. Courage doesn't mean you never feel fear. It means you act anyways, even when things feel intimidating.
One example of courage in an expat journey is going to a social event alone when you don't know anyone. I have done this when I was visiting Barcelona before I moved there. I attended several meetings with a local artist group. I didn't know anyone and I wasn't even sure I would be able to have a conversation with any of the attendees.
But it ended up being an excellent thing. I enjoyed my visit. I met new people and I began to feel like there was a community of people for me to join when I moved. Another example of courage in an expat journey is speaking the local language. Even if you're afraid of making mistakes, anyone who's learned another language has made mistakes. It is part of the learning process. Most people are kind to you and appreciate that you are trying. Try to take it all in stride and know that you will get better the more you practice.
Here are some ways to build courage. Do one small brave thing each week. Talk to somebody new. Try something unfamiliar. Or share your plan out loud. Reflect on past courageous moments to remind yourself of your strength. Use a courage scale. Rate your fear from 1 to 10 and take action if it's below a seven. Adopt a courage mantra. For example, done is better than perfect or I can do hard things.
And lastly, reframe discomfort as evidence that you're growing, not failing. Here are some journaling or reflection prompts for you to consider. What's one thing I've done that scared me, but I'm proud of? What fears are holding me back? And what's one tiny step I could take anyway? How could my life be different if I trusted myself more?
Courage grows through action. Every time you face a fear, you prove to yourself that you can handle uncertainty. And that's an incredible foundation for life abroad. You've got this.