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Jordan Peterson identified patterns in Courage that most people miss. This collection reveals those insights, each quote preserved with full attribution and context. Use it to sharpen your thinking, spot leverage points, and avoid common mistakes. When Courage gets complicated, return here for the mental clarity Jordan Peterson would bring to the situation.
"Harmlessness is not a virtue. Being capable of being dangerous and keeping it under control is a virtue."
"Do not hide unwanted things in the fog."
"In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive."
"Face the thing you fear, and you will find the strength you need."
"You should be afraid of taking risks and pursuing something meaningful. But you should be more afraid of staying where you are if it's making you miserable."
"If you're not going to stand up for yourself, you're not going to be able to stand up for anyone else."
"If you don't stand up for yourself, you're going to be a victim of your own fear."
"If you don't say what you think then you kill your unborn self."
"In the face of suffering, the best response is the adoption of the responsibility of the hero."
"Face the demands of life voluntarily."
"To stand up straight with your shoulders back is to accept the terrible responsibility of life, with eyes wide open. That is a sacrifice of comfort."
"The truth is something that burns. It burns off dead wood. And people don't like having the dead wood burnt off."
"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."
"To be able to think, you have to risk being offensive. You have to risk the fear of social rejection."
"Face the dragon in its lair before it comes to your village."
"Courage is not the absence of fear; it's the decision that something else is more important."
"You cannot be protected from the things that frighten you and hurt you, but you can be made strong enough to face them."
"The hero is the one who sacrifices his own safety for the sake of the truth."
"If you don't move forward, you don't just stay where you are; you slide backwards."
"Don't hide unwanted things in the fog."
"When you have something to say, silence is a lie."
"The willingness to suffer for a higher purpose is the ultimate sacrifice."
"The way that you make yourself safe is by becoming dangerous and then learning how to control it."
"Fatigue makes cowards of us all, and fitness wards off fatigue."
Podcast: The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast - "Resilience and Responsibility"
"The dragon is the thing that you're most afraid of, and the gold is hidden behind it."
"You have to give up your current self to allow your potential self to emerge."
Seeing how Jordan Peterson approaches Courage helps you apply the idea with more precision.
Pick one quote to guide a decision today, then return for deeper perspective.
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"Use this collection whenever you need Jordan Peterson's lens on Courage."