--- title: Considering Courage description: "In this publication, Liz Weaver provides us with her answer to the question: 'What is the most courageous thing you have ever done?'" image: https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Photos/Image%20Library/courage%20liz%20blog.jpg --- [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=200&height=47&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) # Considering Courage Posted on March 11, 2016 [By Liz Weaver](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/liz-weaver) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![courage liz blog.jpg](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Photos/Image%20Library/courage%20liz%20blog.jpg?width=358&name=courage%20liz%20blog.jpg) I have never thought of myself as courageous.  I would use many other words to describe me - thoughtful, reflective, smart, sometimes judgemental but never courageous.  That is why the statement...the most courageous thing I have ever done ...is so perplexing.  Over the past few days I have been reflecting on this.  Does courage come when we are faced with great stress or dilemmas?  Does courage come from standing up to your convictions? Does courage come from being able to say I don't have all the answers?  Or does courage come from the strength that you never knew you had but have been able to draw on during times of great change?  Maybe the answer is that courage is all of these, not a single act, but rather the multiple times in your life when you summon the strength, you speak the words that often are left unspoken, you help others get through and those times you take a risk, leaping into the unknown.  Do i have courage?  There are times when, despite the odds, I have moved forward.  These times have led to transformative moments for me where the depth of the lessons outweighed the risks, even if this was not realized at the time.  Thanks Rich Harwood and [The Harwood Institute](http://www.theharwoodinstitute.org/mission/) for asking such a provocative question.  Topics: [Collaborative Leadership](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/collaborative-leadership), [Liz Weaver](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/liz-weaver) ![Liz Weaver](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Website_Author_Liz_Weaver.jpg) ### By [Liz Weaver](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/liz-weaver) Liz Weaver is passionate about the power and potential of communities to create impact on complex issues. She is Tamarack’s former Co-CEO and Director of the Learning Centre, where she provided strategic leadership and led key learning initiatives, including collective impact capacity-building services for the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Liz is one of Tamarack’s highly regarded trainers and has developed and delivered curriculum on collaborative governance, leadership, collective impact, community innovation, influencing policy change, and social media for impact. ## Related Posts [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Waterloo-crisis-post-cropped-widescreen.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/response-to-the-june-2023-hate-acts-at-the-university-of-waterloo-campus?hsLang=en-us) #### [Response to the June 2023 Hate Acts at the University of Waterloo Campus](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/response-to-the-june-2023-hate-acts-at-the-university-of-waterloo-campus?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Next%20Steps%20written%20on%20desert%20road.jpeg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/design-for-change-6-lenses-strategy?hsLang=en-us) #### [Design for Change: 6 Lenses Strategy](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/design-for-change-6-lenses-strategy?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/2022_ttcblog_featuredimage2.png)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/building-trust-in-a-virtual-world?hsLang=en-us) #### [Building Trust in a Virtual World](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/building-trust-in-a-virtual-world?hsLang=en-us) [![BACK TO THE LATEST](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829) [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=3401&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) ### Tamarack [Home](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) [Latest](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest) [Events](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/eventlisting?hsLang=en-us) [Donate](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/donate?hsLang=en-us) [About](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/whoweare?hsLang=en-us) ### Follow Us [** ** ](https://www.facebook.com/TamarackInstitute) [** ** ](https://twitter.com/Tamarack_Inst) [** ** ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tamarack-institute-for-community-engagement)   In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth we honour and acknowledge that our work occurs across Turtle Island (North America), which has been home since time immemorial to the ancestors of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples. ### Subscribe Be in the know. Get the latest updates, events and resources about community change. [Learn More](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/subscribe?hsLang=en-us) Tamarack Institute © 2023