Courage is Calling
Will You Answer?

Heart beating, mind racing…

My toes curl around the edge of the boat, and I’m now wondering if grabbing that lifejacket would have been a good idea…

I’m on a little diving boat off the coast of Cairns, Australia. The Great Barrier Reef stretches out around me, as far as I can see, in every direction. Deep blue. Endless. Alive. 

…And VERY intimidating! 

My internal self was very chatty that day:

"You have no idea what’s underneath the surface… What if you can’t breathe? What if something goes wrong? What if the boat isn’t here when you come back up…" (thank you Open Water…)

There were at least a dozen perfectly reasonable arguments to stay safely on that deck. No one would have blamed me. But under all of that distracting static was something more profound...

"You’ve come this far. Look at everything that had to have happened for this moment to happen… This is what you’re here for. It’s time to jump."

And I did.

Not because I had no fear. Because I trusted that small voice more than the part of me that wanted to stay safe and dry. It was a moment of feeling the fear, and having the courage to do it anyway…

That jump led to the one of THE most magnificent, awe-inspiring, words-will-never-describe-it experiences of my life… I free dived The Great Barrier Reef… and it was spectacular! 

(Remind me to tell you one day about that trip and my “Team Snorkel” experience!)

That moment on the boat wasn’t the first time I’d felt afraid. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard the whisper to leap anyway. It was just one invitation in a long line of them - many before, and many since. 

Do I consider myself a fearless person? Absolutely not! I will always weigh up the pros and cons of any situation and err on the side of safety and caution every time! 

But am I courageous? Yes, I truly believe I am. 

I often talk about clarity. About authenticity. About alignment. About intuition.

But none of those matter if you don’t also have this:

Courage.

What is courage, really?

The dictionary defines courage as:

“Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.”

But here’s how I’ve come to see it:

Courage is the willingness to move forward in alignment with what you know to be true — even in the presence of fear and doubt. 

Courage isn’t a single act or a decision. It’s a way of life. A way of choosing to be. 

The Origin of Courage

The word courage comes from the Latin "cor", meaning "heart."

Originally, it didn’t mean bravery in battle or standing up to giant enemies. It meant:

To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.

So at its root, courage is wholehearted living:

• Acting, speaking, and choosing to live in alignment with your values… even when you feel vulnerable or misunderstood.

• Committing to walk your own path… even when it’s different or adjacent to the ones others walk.

• Becoming who you’re meant to be… not who the world told you to be.

I often think of The Alchemist as a mirror...

I cannot talk about this topic without mentioning one of my favorite, and most highly recommended books - The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. 

If You’ve Never Read The Alchemist…

It’s the story of Santiago, a young shepherd, who has a recurring dream about a treasure buried near the Egyptian pyramids.

He leaves behind the safety of his known world — his sheep, his familiar routines, the life others expected of him — to follow a mysterious call he can’t fully explain.

Along the way, he meets mentors, faces challenges, detours, love, heartbreak — and is repeatedly asked to trust his Personal Legend — the soul-aligned path his life is meant to take.

He loses things. He doubts himself. He almost gives up. But every time he listens to his heart, the next step appears.

In the end, he discovers that the treasure he was seeking wasn't the gold. It was who he became by following the whispers and growing in alignment with his true self.

Just like in this book, every time I have followed that inner knowing, the next door would appear.

That leap into the unknown in Australia eventually led to me being head-hunted for a contract role here in Austin, Texas… that has opened up my world, and my heart, in ways that I used to only dream about. 

The door that closed on my marriage years before, opened the door that led to 6 years of studying Naturopathic Osteopathy in London…

The day that came a little later when I sat down with my parents and told them I wouldn’t be pursuing Naturopathic Osteopathy after all of these years… the path that was safe, respected, and expected…

That conversation was terrifying in its own way. Not because anyone was unkind, but because I knew I was about to disappoint people I loved, in order to stay loyal to something I couldn’t yet fully articulate.

Back then, I didn’t know where that decision would lead. Only now I can see it would open the door to my work in psychology, human behavior, and eventually coaching - which has now birthed my absolute passion project - The Growth Cycle.

The new doors didn’t (ever!) open in the way I planned. 

Not always immediately. Not always easily. But always on time… in hindsight.

Living a Life Without Courageous Steps…

What happens when you don’t leap? When you ignore the quiet whisper? When you choose perceived safety over your internal compass… again and again?

The truth is, none of these leaps in my life were isolated. Each one prepared me for the next step. Each one taught me something about trusting what I couldn’t yet see.

And each one would have led to even more dissatisfaction and discomfort down the road if I had ignored the nudges. 

It’s not something that we often talk about. 

It doesn’t always look painful on the outside. It often looks steady. Responsible. Logical.

But on the inside?

It feels like:

• Quiet resentment…stagnation disguised as stability.
  
  
• Chronic overthinking… the same obstacles and lessons, on repeat.
  
  
• A loss of creative spark…
  
  
• A growing sense of grief for the unlived version of your life…
  
  
• And a slow deterioration in the trusting of your own intuition.

A life without courageous acts may seem stable… but it starts to slowly dim you from within.

The Wisdom of Wind

There’s this story about Biosphere 2, a sealed dome built in the 1990s, where scientists grew trees in perfect conditions — ideal soil, water, light. But, inadvertently, no wind.

And you know what happened?

The trees grew fast, and tall. And then… they collapsed.

Without wind, they never developed inner strength. They had no reason to deepen their roots.

“Scientists discovered that trees inside Biosphere 2 grew rapidly, but were weak and prone to falling over because they lacked wind, which is essential for developing "stress wood". 

Stress wood is a type of wood that is more dense and stronger, helping trees withstand environmental challenges like wind and weather. Without wind, the trees did not develop the necessary structural strength, leading to their collapse under their own weight. 

This phenomenon highlights the importance of stress in growth, both for trees and humans, as it helps build resiliency and strength”

The Courage to Be Yourself…

The courage to be authentic - to live in your integrity — might be one of the most underestimated acts of bravery in our culture. 

It’s the quiet, daily act of staying loyal to yourself and your values - even when it makes other people uncomfortable. 

It means saying yes to what feels right, even when it’s inconvenient. It means telling the truth about who you are, even when it disrupts the story someone else wants you to believe. 

And that’s no small thing. 

We live in a world that constantly shapes us — through family systems, institutions, marketing, culture. 

We’re taught to perform, to please, to adapt. We’re rewarded for being palatable, productive, predictable. 

So the decision to step outside that — to walk your own path, at your own pace — often comes at a cost. 

Relationships shift. Certainties become unstable. You outgrow entire versions of your life. 

The pay off? Authenticity is the first act of real power.

It’s a prerequisite for sustainable growth. 

The courage to return to yourself, again and again, until it becomes the only place you move from. 

Authenticity might be the most sacred kind of courage there is. 

Because it’s not just about what you do… 

It’s about who you are and who you become. 

Authenticity is more powerful than LOVE…?

In a recent video, Pam Gregory caught my attention by mentioning a recent study that revealed interesting insights into the power of being authentic! 

“A groundbreaking study using the SPANE scale (Scale of Positive and Negative Experience) reveals something profound: authenticity may vibrate at a higher frequency than even love.”

Check out the video here >>>>
(Paul Noiles, ft Zach Bush, MD)

Final Reflections...

I’m not writing this because I’ve mastered it. I’m writing it because I’m living it and learning it alongside you.

And I rely heavily on the grounded-ness and structure of The Growth Cycle to keep me aligned with my own personal authenticity. 

Courage lives inside every phase of
The Growth Cycle...

There is a call for courage embedded in every phase of The Growth Cycle. Some bold. Some quiet. Some visible. Some entirely internal. 

To envision new, bigger dreams...
To say goodbye to what is ending…
To emerge, raw and exposed…
To release what no longer serves…
To connect intimately with others…
To own your wisdom and your worth…

And to remember:

The treasure doesn’t appear before the leap.
It appears because of it.

And when it does — it changes everything.

You don’t have to feel ready to act courageously. You almost never will.

It’s not the fear that keeps you stuck. It’s waiting for fear to leave before you make a move.

Courage builds on itself. One leap at a time. 

Remember… lean into the wind!

Where are YOU on
The Growth Cycle?

Kate Vanden Bos

Grow Your Own Way

Kate Vanden Bos is the creator of The Growth Cycle, a nature-based framework for personal evolution.

She helps professional women reconnect with their energy, their seasons, and their soul’s true rhythm — so they can grow by design, not by default.

Kate’s work blends intuitive insight, grounded guidance, and a deep respect for the natural cycles that shape both our lives and our world

Learn more at MyGrowthCycle.com.

If you're feeling the pull to reconnect with your own rhythm of growth — to trust your season, your timing, your soul — begin here.