Articles - Candace Doby

reasons why emotion make you miscalculate risks

/24 Jun 2021

3 reasons why emotions make us miscalculate risks

In my ongoing quest to learn and understand more about courage, I recognized the need to understand more about risks, which are a central part of courage. That recognition led me to the worldwide bestselling book, Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk by Peter L. Bernstein. In reading the book, I uncovered three reasons why our emotions make us miscalculate risks, and I considered how those miscalculations can slow us down from taking courageous actions that will help us grow personally and professionally. Emotions cloud judgement. Making good decisions about which risks to take requires rational thinking, which...

3 mindsets to remember when acting courageously

/30 Apr 2021

3 Mindsets to Remember When Trying to Act Courageously

In April, I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of Atlanta-based entrepreneurs who recently earned their Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certification. This certification helps socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs better position themselves to compete for federally funded projects. I shared with this group three, critical mindsets, or mental habits, to remember as they continued to work on building and flexing their courage muscle along the path to building a flourishing business. What I love about these mindsets is that they are universal and work just as great for college students, young professionals, and anyone else who is trying...

/17 Mar 2021

How do you gain quicker access to courage? (Increase your experience engaging in the courage process.)

I spoke at the American Camp Association national conference in February on the topic of conjuring courage to have hard conversations. It turns out, there were several hard conversations young professionals in attendance wanted to have, including holding staff accountable, making camp more racially and gender inclusive, and confronting higher ups who create hostile work environments. I took attendees through a process of identifying and evaluating key components of courage that work together to promote courageous action. In a best case scenario, young leaders would be able to navigate through the process with ample lead time to in order to...

/10 Feb 2021

Has your relationship with fear changed during the pandemic?

Have economic downturns, job insecurity and social unrest during the pandemic transformed your once civil relationship with fear into something that’s become a bit more abusive? Fear, with its leery disposition and sharp tone, may have forced you into the tight spot between a wall and a hard place, leaving you stuck and stagnant with a cramp in your style. Its reason: it wants to keep you safe from social, psychological, and any other harm you could experience in an uncertain world — even if keeping you safe means tethering you to old realities, limiting your growth, and stifling your...

act courageously in 2020 courage with friends

/31 Dec 2020

How did you act courageously in 2020?

Rollercoasters may come to mind when you think about wild rides. Maybe even a basketball game that boils down to the final second. But, an entire calendar year? No one imagined 2020 would be as much of a nail biter as it was. It is being called the year of the pivot — the year that pushed people to about-face on previous plans, perspectives and priorities. It challenged people to call on personal courage to do hard things. I wanted to know what some of those hard things were. So, in October, I began hosting a series on Instagram Live...

/10 Nov 2020

How to know if you’re ready to take a risk

So, you want to take a risk? You want to speak up with an unpopular opinion in a meeting of like minds and bring your whole, real self to every personal and professional space you occupy. You wish to have hard conversations about racial and gender equity and ask for a raise (yes, during a pandemic). You desire to follow a path that no one else seems to be on. But, here’s the problem. You recognize the perilousness of these actions and find yourself crunched between a space of motivation and immobility. You are confused about whether to listen to the...

/29 Sep 2020

3 reasons why every organization should prioritize the development of courage in young leaders

If you look at any list of must-have qualities for great leaders, you will almost always find courage included. Courage has been referred to as a defining characteristic of great leaders, the most important leadership virtue, and essential for leadership. Courage is a choice to face a risk for a worthy purpose. But, the virtue isn’t reserved for chiefs at the top with skin in the game. In fact, it is critical for organizations to develop the components of courage in its young leaders — the ones who will carry companies into the future. Here are three reasons why every...

/27 Aug 2020

There is no substitute for courage. Here’s why.

If you look up synonyms for courage, you’ll find words like: bravery, fearlessness and tenacity. And, without much consideration, you can easily settle on why these values and virtues would be in each other’s company. They all point to determination and fierceness. They help a person push past challenges in pursuit of a desired outcome. But, they are separate words for a reason, and that reason is because their meanings are slightly different. I’m going to highlight some of those differences, not to have a mini masterclass in etymology, but rather to show respect to a complex, unmatched virtue. I...