The Gift and Power of Emotional Courage | Susan David

Being from South Africa, Susan David has gained a unique way of viewing the world. She believes that how we all deal with our inner world can directly effect our everyday lives. The way we see ourselves helps us to thrive in this world. Denial can be destructive to a country and a person. During the time Susan was in South Africa, the area still had racism and a Par-tide. She was also suffering from grieving her father’s death. Through the process of writing in a notebook, Susan was able to escape her emotional rigidity and gain more of what she describes as “Emotional Agility”.

Around the world, depression is now the leading cause of disability. With difficult things going on all around, people have a tendency to shut down to their emotions. They are having more rigid responses to the life that is happening around them. On one hand, someone might dwell on their emotions, and on the other hand one might suppress their emotions.

During a survey that Susan conducted, she learned that 1/3 of us judge ourselves for our negative emotions or push those emotions aside so that we do not have to deal with them. Natural emotions are now morally seen as either good or bad. We are told to always think positively. This is ineffective, because the more that we try to control our emotions the more control that these emotions have over us.

Susan tells us that it is ok to feel our emotions. She says, “Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life”. It is also very important to be accurate when we label our emotions, so that we can take to right steps to shape our lives in the correct direction. We need to understand that we are separate from our emotions. One thing Susan’s father said to her before he passed away was, “Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is fear walking”.