Opposite of Courage is Conformity
I was just stumbling on some popular clips on youtube when I came upon this particular one titled "The strangest secret in the world - Earl Nightingale"
The moment Earl started to talk about how the opposite of courage is not cowardliness, its conformity, I really started to listen for those lines really hit a home run for me. I've always knew this, ever since I went to Sefton High when I first learnt about conformity in English classes and watched the "The dead poet's society", it gave me the ideas of being a non-conformist, an individual. Here's someone else's written article that better explains the idea of conformity and courage.
From http://www.rhenion.com/friday_storyd7.htm :
Courage Or Conformity
The late Earl Nightingale was, for many years, the most listened to man
on radio. His radio show, "Our Changing World" was broadcast on over
1,000 radio stations around the world. He researched and wrote every
show himself. The man virtually devoured books. He was consumed with
the idea of why so few people succeed in life and so many others do not.
We all admire the courageous person and quite often consider the
individual who lacks courage, a coward. However, that is not how Earl
Nightingale saw it. He said the opposite of courage was not cowardness,
it was conformity. I believe the more you think about that, the more
you will be inclined to agree with him.
It takes courage to break away from the crowd, to go your own way, to
do the thing which may be unpopular. It takes courage to stand up for
the person who is being unjustly criticized, rather than agreeing and
going along with the crowd. It takes courage for the teenager to say no,
when all the rest of the kids begin going down the wrong path.
Earl Nightingale was correct - the opposite of courage is conforming. It
is one reason so few people enjoy any lasting success. It is so easy to
go along with the large group. We don't have to stand out, to be
different.
The next time you are encouraged to fall into line, to be a sport, and
everything in you says no - be courageous and go your own way. There is
no compensation in conformity.
Bob Proctor
