How Neil Gaiman’s Coraline can inspire us
My therapist once told me, “Taking action is an antidote to fear.” Every time my clients tell me that various fears bog them down, that sentence comes to my mind.
Courage, Neil Gaiman tells us in his Coraline, is not not being afraid but being willing to act despite fear.
It sounds so much like an empty motivational phrase, I know, but in the context of his novel, it makes perfect sense and allows us to reflect on those inner issues that often block the road to effectiveness for entrepreneurs, leaders, and founders. Or for any of us, for that matter.
I’d wanted to write a story for my daughters that told them something I wished I’d known when I was a boy: that being brave didn’t mean you weren’t scared. Being brave meant you were scared, really scared, badly scared, and you did the right thing anyway.
Neil Gaiman, Coraline foreword, 2011
Coraline and us
Coraline is a bright, curious kid who is eager to explore and doesn’t stop even when her explorations get quite scary.
Her courage lies in carrying out her “mission” despite fear, of course, but more importantly, it lies in her ability to be mindful, take risks, build relationships, and ask for help.
If you think about it, these are all essential elements for any person embarking on a journey of professional and personal growth.
Yet you often feel stuck when you want to change something in your life, work, or business.
Being afraid of the unknown makes you question yourself.
But there is no way to know the outcome of our actions until we do them.
What is it then that can give us that courage to act despite the fear?
How Coraline fuels her courage
To take courage before stepping through a creepy door, Coraline reminds herself that she was able to emerge unscathed from a nasty encounter in the basement. She uses the evidence that she was able to do something scary before to be brave once again.
What helps Coraline fuel her courage further is her motivation. At the beginning of her adventure, she craves novelty to chase away boredom, and later on, the desire-need to save herself and other characters she cares about (I won’t mention them so as not to make spoilers!) drives her. Both are alive desires within her that can support her throughout her journey.
Last but not least, Coraline creates and nurtures meaningful connections that will become allies supporting her throughout her adventure.
It’s your turn to self-explore and discover
Next time you feel stuck and fearful of what might happen if you do X:
Browse your past experiences: which ones are giving you the evidence you were able to act despite being scared?
Identify what’s important and highly relevant to you to do X: what’s your deeper motivation? How can you keep connected to it? How can it energize and encourage you?
Find your allies: who can stand by you in your journey? What kind of support can they give you? How will you ask them to help?
Which area will you focus on among those three first to fuel your courage?
Want to explore with me?
With my 1:1 coaching, I can be one of your allies during your adventure and help you find your inner resources to fuel courage and overcome fears. Schedule a chat, and let’s explore how!