“One has to have the courage of one's pessimism.”
Courage is not the absence of fear — that line shows up here more than once, and for good reason. These quotes explore bravery in all its forms: physical, moral, emotional, and the quiet kind that shows up when you simply refuse to quit.
“Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval.”
“One has to have the courage of one's pessimism.”
“I want to grow old without facelifts. I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I have made.”
“And I love that even in the toughest moments, when we're all sweating it - when we're worried that the bill won't pass, and it seems like all is lost - Barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise. Just like his grandmother, he just keeps getting up and moving forward... with patience and wisdom, and courage and grace.”
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”
“You must have love as the core it takes courage to be willing to constantly tell the truth to each other and risk letting the relationship go.”
“Religion in its humility restores man to his only dignity, the courage to live by grace.”
“Life is to be entered upon with courage.”
“I'm still shy - I'm no good at my children's parent-teacher conferences, and I'm slowly learning how to ask for what I want. But I now know that I have a reserve of courage to draw upon when I really need it. There's nothing that I'm too scared to have a go at.”
“The older people that one admires seem to be fearless. They go right out into the world. It's astounding. Maybe they can't see or they can't hear, but they walk out into the street and take life as it comes. They're models of courage, in a strange way.”
“There is hope in dreams, imagination, and in the courage of those who wish to make those dreams a reality.”
“Most of us have far more courage than we ever dreamed we possessed.”
“The 'Bird's Nest' National Stadium, which I helped to conceive, is designed to embody the Olympic spirit of 'fair competition.' It tells people that freedom is possible but needs fairness, courage and strength.”
“Courage is a kind of salvation.”
“I have seen in the Halls of Congress more idealism, more humanness, more compassion, more profiles of courage than in any other institution that I have ever known.”
“Who could refrain that had a heart to love and in that heart courage to make love known?”