The Courage Habit: How to Accept Your Fears, Release the Past, and Live Your Courageous Life

2018·6.2 MB·English

by  Kate Swoboda

“Do you feel the need for a change in your life—a new job, a new
purpose? Don’t let fear hold you back. You too can find the
courage to change with the wisdom collected by Kate Swoboda in
this helpful, cheerful, and delightfully readable book.”
—Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of
Drive and A Whole New Mind
“The Courage Habit combines the latest research into what creates
genuine change with the spiritual view that fear is a gateway to
fearlessness. Drawing on her experience coaching clients, per-
sonal stories, doable (non-silly) exercises, and her ever-present
warmth, this book teaches you the four key habits to face what is
holding you back and live your most courageous life.”
—Susan Piver, bestselling author of Start Here Now
“If there’s anything I’ve learned and taken to heart in the last few
years, it’s that we only have one life to live and we could all stand
to spend more time on what makes us happy and less time feeling
like we’re about to implode from anxiety, shame, guilt, and fear.
The Courage Habit is a great reminder that you control your
destiny, and you have the power to make changes from the inside
out to have the life you want, need, and deserve.”
—Sarah Knight, New York Times bestselling author
of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck
and Get Your Sh*t Together
“Anyone that’s completed a half-Ironman knows a thing or two
about courage and emotional resilience. In her new book, The
Courage Habit, Kate Swoboda discusses the connection between
psychological daring and habit formation, and explains how to
unlock your hidden potential to reach lofty goals. Essential
reading, whether you’re planning on tackling an Ironman or more
courageously tackling the challenges and opportunities of life.”
—Dean Karnazes, ultramarathoner and New York Times
bestselling author
“By challenging the reader to face and embrace fear, The Courage
Habit provides us with a clear path to self-acceptance and emo-
tional freedom. The Courage Habit provides a real-life road map
for anyone seeking to face and release their fears. It’s a powerful
invitation that challenges us all to step into radical self- acceptance
and emotional freedom.”
—Rich and Yvonne Dutra-St.John, Oprah guests,
and cofounders of Challenge Day and the Be the
Change Movement
“This book is the perfect blend of ‘I’ve been there too’ personal
stories from Kate, inspiring client stories, and evidence-based
strategy to not only just ‘feel more courageous,’ but to turn courage
into a daily habit for you. What a refreshing, practical, smart take
on a much-needed quality that each of us needs to live a mean-
ingful life!”
—Kate Northrup, author of Money, and creator of Origin
“The Courage Habit is a definitive guide to your new understanding of
fear and courage, and what they really are, and how they can both be
reshaped to support the life you actually want to live. The Courage
Habit will help you to stop trying to be ‘fearless,’ and start creating
something deeper and richer for your life: living from a place of
courage. And what that will produce for your life is truly revelatory.”
—SARK, author, artist, inspirationist, www.planetsark.com
“Open this book and find the insights and tools to work with your fear
in an entirely new way. Being afraid is part of being human, but with
Kate’s well-researched and client-tested guidance, that’s no longer bad
news. With this book in hand, you will be able to choose much more
often to do and create what you most desire. Allow Kate’s wise guid-
ance to shine light wherever fear has you crimped and doubting. And
then celebrate the heck out of what happens.”
—Jennifer Louden, author of The Woman’s Comfort Book and
The Life Organizer
“Stop running on autopilot and start living the authentic, fulfilling
life you’ve been yearning for with The Courage Habit. Kate Swoboda’s
practical tools based on scientific research will teach you how to work
with your fears, tap into your deepest desires, and build the skills to
make your big visions real. Through her vulnerable truth-telling and
compassionate curiosity, Kate models The Courage Habit, and you’ll
feel like she’s right there in your corner as you take each courageous
step forward.”
—Jennifer Lee, author of The Right-Brain Business Plan
“Pretty much everyone in the world needs more courage, so pretty
much everyone needs The Courage Habit on their bedside table.
Whether you’re trying to drum up enough courage to negotiate for
more paid vacation time at work or trying to muster up the courage to
publish your first blog post, the guidance in this book will help.”
—Alexandra Franzen, author of 50 Ways to Say You’re
Awesome and You’re Going to Survive
“In self-help today, the term ‘fearless’ has taken wings and can make
people feel like they’re ‘doing it wrong’ if they still experience fear.
Kate so gracefully and clearly tells the reader how to work with fear,
pinpoint our fear-based stories to reframe them, and live their most
courageous life. Every chapter in this book is a gem!”
—Andrea Owen, author of 52 Ways to Live a Kick-Ass Life
and How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t
“We treat fear as a thing to either be ashamed of or to crush. ‘Kate
Courageous’ helps us understand it is an essential, and survivable,
part of doing great work in the world.”
—Pamela Slim, author of Body of Work and Escape from
Cubicle Nation
BLOGGERS
“Fear and doubt will always be part of the journey, because as humans
we’ll always encounter fear and doubt. The Courage Habit will IGNITE
your courage and have you extinguishing the negative voices in your
head. You are on the path to greatness, so allow The Courage Habit to
light the way!”
—John Lee Dumas, Entrepreneur on Fire
“In Kate Swoboda’s The Courage Habit, she illuminates what so many of
us are seeking: a practical, attainable path out of our fear-driven actions
and into a life created by courage. Kate’s book speaks both as a seasoned
fellow traveler and an expert with an invaluable depth of knowledge in
the supporting sciences. This is the book for all of us looking at the gap
between where we are and where we want to be, but are afraid to go.”
—Rachel W. Cole, coach and teacher at www.rachelwcole.com
“Warning/threat/promise: After working through the four steps laid out
for you in The Courage Habit, you won’t have any excuses for not reach-
ing your Big Goals or Scary Dreams. Get ready to bust through the nega-
tive patterns and stories that are holding you back, in a totally grounded
and accessible way. Kate Swoboda gives you the toolbox to live your most
courageous life.”
—Michelle Ward, When I Grow Up Coach
“This book is a huge exhale! Not only does it normalize the fear that we
all live with, but teaches us how to move toward our fear with love and
compassion. Once we are working with our fear instead of fighting
against it (or pretending it doesn’t exist), Kate teaches us how to create
habits around courage that allow us to create what we truly want in our
lives. This book is wise, practical, and full of compassion.”
—Andrea Scher, Superhero Life
“Like the friend who always sees through your B.S. and can tell what’s
really going on with you, The Courage Habit will make you feel relieved,
safe, and hopeful as you face your fears, and the where-the-rubber-meets-
the-road practices will help you change the habits that are holding you
back.”
—Laura Simms, founder of Your Career Homecoming
“It’s one thing to talk about cultivating courage. It’s an altogether differ-
ent thing to illuminate exactly how to be resilient when fear emerges,
which is exactly what Kate Swoboda has done in The Courage Habit.
Pairing research-backed steps with her extensive experiences as a coach
and founder of a renowned coach training program, Kate Swoboda shows
readers how to make courage a ‘routine’ you default to—so that you can
move through discomfort and obstacles, and live, work, and play from a
place of wholeness and unapologetic self-acceptance. The Courage Habit
has sharpened my skill set as a coach. I love everything about this book—
and you will too!”
—Alexia Vernon, author of Step into Your Moxie
“Kate takes the adage, ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway!’ from rally cry to
process—giving us practical tools to recognize our own fear patterns and
to choose courageous responses. The Courage Habit is a modern day
how-to manual, taking us from self-sabotaging our dreams to moving
forward with resilience and self-compassion. It’s a must-read for any
woman who feels like fear is holding her back from claiming her true
potential in the world!”
—Molly Mahar, founder of Stratejoy
“Through The Courage Habit, Kate ‘Courageous’ Swoboda lets the world
know exactly how to dance with fear—and it is a dance. Like anything
in life, we must learn to move, flow, and act with the fear that is present.
The Courage Habit is informative, practical, compassionate, and both
life-changing and world-changing.”
—Julie Daley, Unabashedly Female

Publisher’s Note
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information
in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the
publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other
professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of
a competent professional should be sought.
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Copyright © 2018 by Kate Swoboda
New Harbinger Publicatio ns, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com
The Courage Habit is a registered trademark. We claim this trademark
even when the ® symbol is not displayed.
Cover design by Amy Shoup
Acquired by Camille Hayes
Edited by Erin Raber
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file
Contents
Foreword v
Introduction 1
1 Your Most Courageous Self 21
2 Habits and Courage 41
3 Habit: Accessing the Body 65
4 Habit: Listening Without Attachment 89
5 Habit: Reframing Limiting Stories 119
6 Habit: Reach Out and Create Community 147
7 Reflecting On Your Courageous Life 185
Acknowledgments 197
Bibliography 203
Reader Questions and Book Club Guide 207