In these troubling times a range of fear, stress and anxiety is causing hysteria in society as a whole. Some find that courage is an act of the past left to glorified history and children’s fables, or if it exists today that it is confined to a select few.

They may think today’s brave citizens are only among the ranks of the nurses and doctors, the military and the journalists who are taking action right now. However, don’t fool yourself into believing they were born fearless. They are probably terrified but have something and someone to fight for — the next generation.

The brave citizens, regardless of current circumstance, may have lost people, places, everything or know they or others will suffer without action being taken. The brave know they either have nothing to lose and everything to gain, or everything to lose and someone to fight for. Sometimes there are people who take the highest risks searching for that euphoric moment that comes with the feeling of being alive.

But you, too, are brave. You have something to fight for whether or not you see it. Believe that someday you will be the person who changes the injustices you see littered throughout our world, that you are able to change a single life. Currently you are witnessing others fight valiantly to combat the Coronavirus, and showing you it’s possible to overcome both fear and stress.

Whether you realize it or not, your fears can cause physical pain in your heart and can build up to a certain degree that can feel like you’re having a heart attack. It happens to people so often that the most suggested question on google that goes alongside the key term anxiety is whether or not a person who is having a panic attack is actually having a heart attack. Emotional pain can be more real than any cut or bruise. WebMd answers the question of a commonly Googled question – “Can panic attacks cause chest pain?”

According to WebMd, “Anxiety and panic attacks can definitely cause chest pain. Some associated symptoms can include dizziness, sensation of shortness of breath, palpitations, tingling sensations and trembling.”

Every time you let your fears win, you already lose everything by refusing to act. You let that goal in your sight slip further away without ever chasing after it. You immobilize yourself before anything else can stop you, therefore, losing not just a battle but an entire war. If you’re asking how to become brave it’s in a single breath.

The American Institute of Stress in the article “Take a deep breath” reveals a breathing technique to quiet the mind: “Sudarshan Kriya or SKY – incorporates specific natural rhythms of the breath which harmonize the body, mind and emotions. This unique breathing technique eliminates stress, fatigue and negative emotions such as anger, frustration and depression, leaving you calm yet energized, focused yet relaxed.”

Some people, like Veronica Roth in her book “Divergent,” show us this through her character Tris, or we see it through Jack, the character from the TV show “Lost” that aired Sept. 24, 2004. They give themselves seven seconds of fear and then take action. It is that small breath, a singular moment filled with trepidation and momentum in which the consciousness of your heart overwhelms and dilutes fear.

You may be feeling unaffected by stress, yet the American Institute of Stress’s article “42 Worrying Workplace Stress Statistics” recites the truth: “55% of Americans are stressed during the day.”

If you let fear or anxiety write your destiny you can lose all that you are or all that you can be. I’d rather live in a world where you are free to fight for your dreams than be afraid you had already lost them.

Note that in the sky there are twice as many lights that shine brighter than anything on Earth, each containing the hopes and dreams for every person on our planet. The symbol of the stars is etched throughout countless eras of history and unites the entirety of the human race under a single banner, with over a million dreams. Realize that from a distance you are someone else’s star in the night sky. So be brave.