How Medal of Honor Recipients Answer the Courage Question

Courage is about stepping across the gap in the face of fear, and doing what needs to be done anyway. Guest Blogger - Dr. Kevin Basik

As the Chief of Leadership Programs at the Medal of Honor Institute, there’s a question I ask every Medal of Honor recipient. Even though I know how they will answer, I still lean in to listen for the secret sauce.

It’s the Courage Question: “(In spite of the fear, pain and risk)…what helped you do what you did?”

The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest honor for selfless bravery in combat. Granted, we may never be in a firefight or have a live grenade lobbed into our lives, threatening those we love. But perhaps their battlefield is a useful analogy for the battles we all face in our lives. And just maybe…whatever helped these heroes in their moments of Courage can help the rest of us.

The responses by these humble and admittedly “ordinary” heroes consistently fall into three categories which I call “The Courage Catalysts.” Strengthen these and you strengthen your ability to act courageously when it matters most wherever you serve.

Listen to what they said: