Excerpt: These 35 Osho quotes on courage were all hand selected and organized from his book, Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously. Ready to drop fear? Read on.
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Introduction: Everything In Life Is Improved With Courage
The good news is that courage can be learned—it’s not something that you either have or you don’t. It’s something that can be improved upon from whatever level it is currently at.
Courage is not fearlessness. It is not an absence of fear. It is not only grand, heroic gestures and actions. Courage is simply the ability to act in spite of fear. And since everybody’s fear levels are different and everybody has exercised their “courage muscles” differently throughout their lives, everybody’s courage should be expected to be called upon differently as well.
Understanding that courage is not one-size-fits-all in how it is expressed is imperative if you are to make improvement in your own life. It’s easy to label all of the things that require great courage in life. And it’s easy to feel cowardly in comparison to all of those great, courageous things that are done by all of those great, courageous people. But, courage is not improved by comparison. In fact, if there’s anything that comparison does is it kills courage!
Hearing about the brave men and women who risked their lives on the front lines of war, catastrophe, crime, injustice, and devastation makes you question what you’re so scared about in the midst of your average day. Seeing people courageous lead others with charisma, insight, and humor makes you question whether those people were born with a different DNA set than yours. Not being able to see the fear in others makes you question whether or not it’s even there. Comparison, by and by, can turn other people’s courage into your excuses to be cowardly.
Drop the comparisons. Forget about how other people are confronting their fear and focus on your own. Comparison is a distraction from yourself. It is your ego trying to keep you from having to act in the face of fear. It is a master plot to keep you inside of your comfort zone in the most comfortable way. It is the falsely created narrative that courage is innate when in reality, it is developed. It is the adoption of a fixed mindset over a growth mindset. And the only things that are ever fixed in our minds are the things that we’ve fixed our own minds up to believe.
If we make up our minds to believe that we are not courageous—then it is over and done with. The idea is fixed and we will carry on living our lives in ways that conform and support that idea. How could it be any other way? It is the very definition of fixed. We can never outperform our own self-image.
If we see ourselves as cowardly, then we will not act in situations that require courage. We will continue to act cowardly as that is how we have constructed our perception of ourself. To act otherwise would be to completely destroy the identity that we made. And destroying something of our own creation seems futile and counterproductive.
NEW In The Shop: Don’t Let The Tame Ones Tell You How To Live [Poster]
Why We ♥ It: Some of the best advice I (Matt here) ever got was: don’t take life advice from people who aren’t living a life you want to live and don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t go to for advice. I created this poster to act as a reminder to listen more closely to our role models and less closely to our critics, trolls, and tamed-comfort-zone-hugger acquaintances. It’s also a perfect gift for the outdoor adventurer, travel enthusiast, or solo explorer (or soon to be). Available in print or digital download. 👇🏼
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But, in this case, it is exactly what needs to happen. The growth mindset is what will set you free. You see, you are not limited to a certain level of bravery for the entire duration of your life. You can improve and grow those muscles in very much the same way that you would for any other muscles in your body. To believe that your body is set exactly as it is and there’s nothing you can do about it would be a ridiculous thought, eh? I’m sure you’ve experienced the shape-shifting ability of the body throughout your life (from good shape to not-so-good shape). Well, your mind is no different.
Give the mind a challenge and it will expand as you work to overcome it—never to return to its original dimensions. Once your mind understands that two plus two equals four, it is not something that it will ever shrink to forget. That solution will forever be within the realm of your understanding. And so is the case with any other mental effort that you put forth. Your mind will expand and your abilities will improve. The key, is to lean just far enough into fear so that you grow without panicking and regressing.
If your fear is to speak in front of people, then you should lean into that fear in steps that are manageable for you. For some, that might mean learning how to have better one-on-one conversations first. For others, that might mean practicing speaking in front of two or three trusted friends or family members. For others, that might mean volunteering to speak at a career day or for a small event that focuses on a topic that they know a lot about.
Then, as you lean just beyond your fear, you’ll find that your courage will grow by just that much. Enough to show you that you can do it again. Because what better proof for a future action than a successful past action? It might even inspire you to lean further into fear the next time. And so it goes. And so courage is built. One small act at a time. One percent further into your fear each time. Until you are confident enough to confront your fear full force. Not just in one area of your life, but in all of them.
Because as Osho points out below, courage is not singularly useful—it is universally useful. When you come to a fork in the road and have to decide between telling the truth and lying—courage is what makes the difference in the decision. When you are with the one you like and you have to either “make a move” or not—courage is what convinces you to lean in or lean away. If you’ve been hurt before and someone else comes along to be a part of your life—courage is what helps you entrust in people again. And this list goes on and on.
Hence, if there was but one skill that you could invest your time and energy into improving, let it be courage. Label all of the things in your life that you fear and then list ways that you can realistically act more courageously to improve upon them. And don’t be deceived. Your ego will lie to you. It will distract you. It will tell you that you are who you are and there’s nothing you can ever do to change that. It’s a lie. Don’t believe it. Don’t take council from your ego. And don’t take council from your fears. Act, in spite of it all. And lean into the life that only courage can lead you to live. You cannot get to it any other way.
The List: 35 Osho Quotes on Courage and Why Life Is Better Lived Dangerously
Below, you will find our 35 Osho quotes on courage. Each quote was hand selected and organized from his book, Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously.
…Joy in living dangerously? But, isn’t it in our nature to seek security and shelter from that which is dangerous? Interestingly enough, as you’ll soon see outlined in the quotes below, danger should actually be precisely what we should be seeking in our lives—if we want to live our lives in full, that is. Intrigued? …As was I.
I’ll leave it to Osho to further explain. I hope you enjoy these insights and I hope they entice you to break free from the shackles of your own self-produced fear so that you may live your best life. Enjoy and good luck.
“You cannot be truthful if you are not courageous. You cannot be loving if you are not courageous. You cannot be trusting if you are not courageous. You cannot inquire into reality if you are not courageous. Hence, courage comes first and everything else follows.”
Osho, Courage (Page xiii)
“The word courage is very interesting. It comes from the Latin root cor, which means ‘heart.’ So to be courageous means to live with the heart. And weaklings, only weaklings, live with the head; afraid, they create a security of logic around themselves. Fearful, they close every window and door—with theology, concepts, words, theories—and inside those closed doors and windows, they hide.”
Osho, Courage (Page 6)
“Basically courage is risking the known for the unknown, the familiar for the unfamiliar, the comfortable for the uncomfortable, arduous pilgrimage to some unknown destination. One never knows whether one will be able to make it or not. It is gambling, but only the gamblers know what life is.”
Osho, Courage (Page 2)
“To live dangerously means to live. If you don’t live dangerously, you don’t live. Living flowers only in danger. Living never flowers in security; it flowers only in insecurity. If you start getting secure, you become a stagnant pool. Then your energy is no longer moving. Then you are afraid… because one never knows how to go into the unknown.”
Osho, Courage (Page 119)
“Courage means going into the unknown in spite of all the fears. Courage does not mean fearlessness. Fearlessness happens if you go on being courageous and more courageous. That is the ultimate experience of courage—fearlessness: That is the fragrance when the courage has become absolute.”
Osho, Courage (Page 1)
“Everybody is afraid—has to be. Life is such that one has to be. And people who become fearless, become fearless not by becoming brave—because a brave man has only repressed his fear; he’s not really fearless. A man becomes fearless by accepting his fears. It is not a question of bravery. It is simply seeing into the facts of life and realizing that these fears are natural. One accepts them!”
Osho, Courage (Page 152)
“To accept the challenge of the unknown, in spite of all fears, is courage. The fears are there, but if you go on accepting the challenge again and again, slowly slowly those fears disappear. The experience of the joy that the unknown brings, the great ecstasy that starts happening with the unknown, makes you strong enough, gives you a certain integrity, makes your intelligence sharp. For the first time you start feeling that life is not just a boredom but an adventure. Then slowly slowly fears disappear; then you are always seeking and searching for some adventure.”
Osho, Courage (Page 2)
“Nothing can be secure, because a secure life will be worse than death. Nothing is certain. Life is full of uncertainties, full of surprises—that is its beauty! You can never come to a moment when you can say, ‘Now I am certain.’ When you say you are certain, you simply declare your death. Life goes on moving with a thousand and one uncertainties. That’s its freedom. Don’t call it insecurity.”
Osho, Courage (Page x)
“Insecurity is an intrinsic part of life—and good that it is so, because it makes life a freedom, it makes life a continuous surprise. One never knows what is going to happen. It keeps you continuously in wonder. Don’t call it uncertainty—call it wonder. Don’t call it insecurity—call it freedom.”
Osho, Courage (Page xii)
“All that is beautiful and all that is good and all that is divine can be felt only by the inner sense. Stop being influenced by people’s opinions. Rather, start looking in… allow your inner sense to say things to you. Trust it. If you trust it, it will grow. If you trust it, you will feed it, it will become stronger.”
Osho, Courage (Page 106)
“The way of the heart is the way of courage. It is to live in insecurity; it is to live in love, and trust; it is to move in the unknown. It is leaving the past and allowing the future to be. Courage is to move on dangerous paths. Life is dangerous, and only cowards can avoid the danger—but then, they are already dead. A person who is alive, really alive, vitally alive, will always move into the unknown.”
Osho, Courage (Page 6)
“[Listen] to the heart consciously, alertly, attentively. And follow it, go wherever it takes you. Yes, sometimes it will take you into dangers—but remember, those dangers are needed to make you ripe. Sometimes it will take you astray—but remember again, those goings astray are part of growth. Many times you will fall—rise up again, because this is how one gathers strength, by falling and rising again. This is how one becomes integrated.”
Osho, Courage (Page 10)
“Meet people, mix with people, with as many people as possible, because each person expresses a different facet of God. Learn from people. Don’t be afraid, this existence is not your enemy. This existence mothers you, this existence is ready to support you in every possible way. Trust, and you will start feeling a new upsurge of energy in you. That energy is love. That energy wants to bless the whole existence, because in that energy one feels blessed. And when you feel blessed, what else can you do except bless the whole existence?”
Osho, Courage (Page 78)
“Committing many mistakes, one learns what is a mistake and how not to commit it. Knowing what is error, one comes closer and closer to what is truth. It is an individual exploration, you cannot depend on others’ conclusions.”
Osho, Courage (Page 16)
“That is one of the problems: people have been taught never to do anything wrong, and then they become so hesitant, so fearful, so frightened of doing wrong, that they become stuck. They cannot move, something wrong may happen. So they become like rocks, they lose all movement. Commit as many mistakes as possible, remembering only one thing: don’t commit the same mistake again. And you will be growing.”
Osho, Courage (Page 12)
…Enjoying these quotes? Grab your copy of Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously here 👇🏼
Book Overview: Courage is not the absence of fear, says Osho. It is, rather, the total presence of fear, with the courage to face it. This book provides a bird’s-eye view of the whole terrain—where fears originate, how to understand them, and how to call on your inner strength to confront them. In the process, Osho proposes that whenever we are faced with uncertainty and change in our lives, it is actually a cause for celebration. Instead of trying to hang on to the familiar and the known, we can learn to enjoy these situations as opportunities for adventure and for deepening our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Having courage is more than just heroic acts in exceptional circumstances. It’s a necessity to lead authentic and fulfilling lives on a day-to-day basis. This is the courage to change when change is needed, the courage to stand up for our own truth, even against the opinions of others, and the courage to embrace the unknown in spite of our fears—in our relationships, in our careers, or in the ongoing journey of understanding who we are and why we are here.
“Life can only be lived dangerously—there is no other way to live it. It is only through danger that life attains to maturity, growth. One needs to be an adventurer, always ready to risk the known for the unknown. And once one has tasted the joys of freedom and fearlessness, one never repents because then one knows what it means to live at the optimum. Then one knows what it means to burn your life’s torch from both ends together. And even a single moment of that intensity is more gratifying than the whole eternity of mediocre living.”
Osho, Courage (Page 51)
“To grow to your destiny needs great courage, it needs fearlessness. People who are full of fear cannot move beyond the known. The known gives a kind of comfort, security, safety because it is known. One is perfectly aware, one knows how to deal with it. One can remain almost asleep and go on dealing with it—there is no need to be awake; that’s the convenience with the known.”
Osho, Courage (Page 50)
“There are two types of living: one fear-oriented, one love-oriented. Fear-oriented living can never lead you into deep relationship. You remain afraid, and the other cannot be allowed, cannot be allowed to penetrate you to your very core. To an extent you allow the other, but then the wall comes up and everything stops. The love-oriented person is one who is not afraid of the future, one who is not afraid of the result and the consequence, who lives here and now. Don’t be bothered about the result; that is the fear-oriented mind. Don’t think about what will happen out of it. Just be here and act totally. Don’t calculate. A fear-oriented man is always calculating, planning, safeguarding. His whole life is lost in this way.”
Osho, Courage (Page 79)
“The more fearless a person is, the less mind he uses. The more fearful a person, the more he uses the mind.”
Osho, Courage (Page 86)
“You were born as a no-mind. Let this sink into your heart as deeply as possible because through that, a door opens. If you were born as a no-mind, then the mind is just a social product. It is nothing natural, it is cultivated. It has been put together on top of you. Deep down you are still free, you can get out of it. One can never get out of nature, but one can get out of the artificial any moment one decides to.”
Osho, Courage (Page 16)
“The young child is free of fear; children are born without any fear. If the society can help and support them to remain without fear, can help them to climb the trees and the mountains and swim the oceans and the rivers—if the society can help them in every possible way to become adventurers, adventurers of the unknown, and if the society can create a great inquiry instead of giving them dead beliefs—then the children will turn into great lovers, lovers of life. And that is true religion. There is no higher religion than love.”
Osho, Courage (Page 77)
“Fear is nothing but absence of love. Do something with love, forget about fear. If you love well, fear disappears. If you love deeply, fear is not found.”
Osho, Courage (Page 64)
“Drop all fears and love more—and love unconditionally. Don’t think that you are doing something for the other when you love; you are doing something for yourself. When you love it is beneficial to you. So don’t wait; don’t say that when others love, you will love—that is not the point at all. Be selfish. Love is selfish. Love people—you will be fulfilled through it, you will be getting more and more blessedness through it. And when love goes deeper, fear disappears; love is the light, fear is darkness.”
Osho, Courage (Page 70)
“You cannot bring the new in your life; the new comes. You can either accept it or reject it. If you reject it you remain a stone, closed and dead. If you receive it you become a flower, you start opening… and in that opening is celebration.”
Osho, Courage (Page 56)
“They say all that is old is not gold. I say, even if all that is old is gold, forget about it. Choose the new—gold or no gold, it doesn’t matter. What matters is your choice: your choice to learn, your choice to experience, your choice to go into the dark. Slowly slowly your courage will start functioning. And sharpness of intelligence is not something separate from courage, it is almost one organic whole.”
Osho, Courage (Page 149)
“Boredom simply means that the way you are living is wrong; hence it can become a great event, the understanding that, ‘I am bored and something has to be done, some transformation is needed.’”
Osho, Courage (Page 169)
“Why does one feel bored? One feels bored because one has been living in dead patterns given to you by others. Renounce those patterns, come out of those patterns! Start living on your own.”
Osho, Courage (Page 168)
“When I say live dangerously, I mean don’t live the life of ordinary respectability—that you are a mayor in a town, or a member of the corporation. This is not life. Or you are a minister, or you have a good profession and are earning well and money goes on accumulating in the bank and everything is going perfectly well. When everything is going perfectly well, simply see it—you are dying and nothing is happening. People may respect you, and when you die a great procession will follow you. Good, that’s all, and in the newspapers your pictures will be published and there will be editorials, and then people will forget about you. And you lived your whole life only for these things?”
Osho, Courage (Page 121)
“Have you ever gone climbing the mountains? The higher the climb, the fresher you feel, the younger you feel. The greater the danger of falling, the bigger the abyss by the side, the more alive you are… between life and death, when you are just hanging between life and death. There is no boredom, then there is no dust of the past, no desire for the future. Then the present moment is very sharp, like a flame. It is enough—you live in the here and now.”
Osho, Courage (Page 120)
“Those who are courageous, they go headlong. They search all opportunities of danger. Their life philosophy is not that of insurance companies. Their life philosophy is that of a mountain climber, a glider, a surfer. And not only in the outside seas they surf; they surf in their innermost seas. And not only on the outside they climb Alps and Himalayas; they seek inner peaks.”
Osho, Courage (Page 119)
“To me, to be blissful is the greatest courage. To be miserable is very cowardly. In fact to be miserable, nothing is needed. Any coward can do it, any fool can do it. Everybody is capable of being miserable, but to be blissful, great courage is needed—it is an uphill task.”
Osho, Courage (Page 60)
“Meditation should be an inner shelter, an inner shrine. Whenever you feel that the world is too much for you, you can move into your shrine. You can have a bath in your inner being. You can rejuvenate yourself. You can come out resurrected; again alive, fresh, young, renewed… to live, to be. But you should also be capable of loving people and facing problems, because a silence that is impotent and cannot face problems is not much of a silence, is not worth much.”
Osho, Courage (Page 160)
“Life is not a problem. To look at it as a problem is to take a wrong step. It is a mystery to be lived, loved, experienced.”
Osho, Courage (Page 23)
“Looking at a flower, become the flower; dance around the flower, sing a song. the wind is cool and crisp, the sun is warm, and the flower is in its prime. The flower is dancing in the wind, rejoicing, singing a song, singing alleluia. Participate with it! Drop indifference, objectivity, detachment. Drop all your scientific attitudes. Become a little more fluid, more melting, more merging. Let the flower speak to your heart, let the flower enter your being. Invite him—he is a guest! And then you will have some taste of mystery.”
Osho, Courage (Page 21)
“Only at the moment of death do [people] recognize the fact that they have not lived. Life has simply passed as if a dream, and death has come. Now there is no more time to live—death is knocking on the door. And when there was time to live, you were doing a thousand and one foolish things, wasting your time rather than living it.”
Osho, Courage (Page 142)
If you enjoyed these Osho quotes on courage then you should consider reading Osho’s book in full. It comes highly recommended:
Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously [Book]
Book Overview: Courage is not the absence of fear, says Osho. It is, rather, the total presence of fear, with the courage to face it. This book provides a bird’s-eye view of the whole terrain—where fears originate, how to understand them, and how to call on your inner strength to confront them. In the process, Osho proposes that whenever we are faced with uncertainty and change in our lives, it is actually a cause for celebration. Instead of trying to hang on to the familiar and the known, we can learn to enjoy these situations as opportunities for adventure and for deepening our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Having courage is more than just heroic acts in exceptional circumstances. It’s a necessity to lead authentic and fulfilling lives on a day-to-day basis. This is the courage to change when change is needed, the courage to stand up for our own truth, even against the opinions of others, and the courage to embrace the unknown in spite of our fears—in our relationships, in our careers, or in the ongoing journey of understanding who we are and why we are here.
Other Post(s) Inspired by this Book:
- Osho Quote on Living With Courage and Exploring Both the Inner and Outer World (Beyond the Quote 330/365)
- Osho Quote on Bliss and How Effort is Required for Higher States of Mind (Beyond the Quote 319/365)
- Osho Quote on Courage and How Everything In Life Is Improved With It (Beyond the Quote 314/365)
Read Next:
NEW In The Shop: Don’t Let The Tame Ones Tell You How To Live [Poster]
Why We ♥ It: Some of the best advice I (Matt here) ever got was: don’t take life advice from people who aren’t living a life you want to live and don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t go to for advice. I created this poster to act as a reminder to listen more closely to our role models and less closely to our critics, trolls, and tamed-comfort-zone-hugger acquaintances. It’s also a perfect gift for the outdoor adventurer, travel enthusiast, or solo explorer (or soon to be). Available in print or digital download. 👇🏼
...Want to advertise your book, product, or service? Send inquiries to matt@movemequotes.com.
Written by Matt Hogan
Founder of MoveMe Quotes. On a mission to help busy people do inner work—for better mental health; for healing; for personal growth. Find me on Twitter / IG / Medium. I also share daily insights here. 🌱
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