Articles - Candace Doby

/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...

/14 Jul 2020

9 Effective Ways To Build Confidence

Confidence is a bit like money — everyone wants it. And luckily, everyone can have it. Where confidence and money differ, however, is in the fact that confidence always has to be built. You can’t get it from an inheritance or find it lying on the ground. You can’t borrow it from a friend or win it in a lottery. Confidence comes from repeated physical and/or psychological labor a person exerts to build up their abilities to the point where they can trust, or rely, on those abilities. Building confidence always takes work. And fortunately, there are a lot of...

/24 Mar 2020

3 Everyday Habits To Grow Your Courage

Wouldn’t it be great if you could prepare for courageous action like you cram for an exam — stuffing everything you need to know in your brain right before facing a test and recalling the information just in time to confidently answer. Unfortunately, growing and developing courage is not a one-time haul. The ability to conjure courage relies upon an archive of strong internal resources built up over time. When you are deciding to move forward with courage, your brain conducts a quick, albeit comprehensive, evaluation of your purpose, skills and beliefs to understand if you have what it takes...

/25 Feb 2020

3 Reasons Why Perfectionism Is Stifling Your Courage

“A particularly big problem we’re seeing with girls now is that they are refusing to go after anything if everything isn’t perfect.” I often ask adults who serve youth what issues they see young people facing. Jen, an executive of a girls organization, had a quick answer to my question, as if she looked inside my brain and saw the question coming. Perfectionism. Her answer didn’t surprise me since I’ve had my own experiences with perfectionism, which is a broad personality style marked by a hypercritical relationship with one’s self. I once dropped off a catering meal to a local business...