Courageous to me means being able to face challenges and fears with a determination and resolve to not allow those fears and challenges shape our life. I think true courage can only be developed by feeling the fear and doing it anyway. It is not allowing that fear to determine who we become but facing it resolutely, moving through it, and realizing that the only power it has over us is the power we give it - it really is an illusion that we feed with our mind. The more we face our fears, the more courageous we become until fearlessness becomes one of our strongest allies and those longheld fears begin to shrivel.

Being Courageous means doing what you think is right, or staying on your path, in spite of... Be your own person even if you're not popular. It takes guts to go against the grain. As long as really believe in what you are doing and not trying to be a rebel. Stay true to yourself. If the majority want to do something wrong or hurtful to someone else; you have to step up and say no.

i agree with what you all have said about courage being acting in spite of fear, but i would add to that: courage also means carrying out honest and critical reflection upon one's self and actions; otherwise, one's 'courageous' act of being 'oneself' in spite of fear could just perpetuate intolerant, ignorant, and generally douchey behavior. so, in my view, a 'courageous' act is not courageous until one has not only followed through with it, but also resisted the temptation of self-congratulation and replaced it with self-reflection.

With all the above thread of wise words,i rest my case.

I've been in several life and death situations where I had a chance to experience first hand the meaning of the word courage. I agree with most of the answers here, but have to add that other than overcoming the fear and proceeding inspite and despite of it, and the self-reflection afterward is one more element. I am not sure how to put it. But for me it seems the most courage I've seen had to do with altruism. It is like one gets the strength to be courageous not so much for oneself but for loved ones. It is at points like these that I've seen the most acts of courage. As a service to others.

Thank you, namaste

Back2Basics, being courageous means humbly and graciously accepting that growing intellectually and spiritually will take some time and concerted effort... By Divine design, growing is not an easy process...

God designed the process to be difficult, so that we would be constantly challenged to be our BEST, at what he uniquely and individually designed us to BE ... Never forget -- this world is just the first rung, of an incomprehensibly long ladder, that brings us from this relatively squalid human condition, to the inexhaustible beauty and truth of everlasting life.

That's why we start our journey by living this difficult human life, on this difficult to improve physical planet... That's why there is no growth without conflict... As you may have already experienced -- this ego-centric human-animal does not like to change... Thus our loyalties will not be exercised on behalf of the great, the good, the true and the noble without a fight.

Accept the challenge!

When you do, life will almost immediately become more thrilling, engaging and rewarding... Now, when you win -- you win yourself... You bring yourself back from the abyss of potential discouragement and despair, to the threshold of eternal life.

Just the prospect of winning this TRUE goal, will make you capable of winning it!

Being courageous is giving up a part of your body (an organ), to save a person, and to improve the quality of their life!

when you are able to face annything(for you or for other even death or harm) staying in the truth what ever happens(that you like it or not). that is courage.