Connor Dean, Sec. 8 This I Believe: Courage, Resolve, and Imagination

Part II: A Life Lesson from Broken Ribs

            Courage is a fantastic thing to have, but it isn’t the only important thing to have. Resolve is equally important, if not more so. Don’t confuse the two; they are complimentary, not synonymous. Courage is similar to putting the key in the ignition of your car: it gets you started, but that’s it. Resolve, on the other hand, is the gasoline in your car: it’s the real force that takes you to your goals.

            The first time I was able to discern the difference between these two was during a kickboxing match between me and another. About halfway through this match, my opponent found an opening in my defenses, and like lightning, delivered a kick that broke two of my ribs and winded me. The mentality that courage was the ultimate driving force behind me vanished in that instant, replaced by pain and an unrelenting need to gasp for air. Two broken ribs is an easy reason for me to back out of a match, but I didn’t. I was afraid, but I shook my head and stepped back into the fight. That feeling, that I would continue even if I faced being broken, was resolve.

            The point of this is simple. We as human beings are fragile, but only as bodies. Our wills won’t break from broken ribs, or whatever overpowering forces you’re struck with throughout life, literal or metaphorical. I am as durable as I believe myself to be. Courage is the belief that you can face whatever opposes you, resolve is the will to prove it.