Turning fear into encourage: a life lesson from Ulysses S. Grant. During the American Civil War.

Hello again, dear reader.

In our recent conversations, we have been discussing what it means to be "Badass" we have discussed. The images, that this word or term conjures up to exploring the myth of the northwest mountain men (and women), we have studied the definition of "Badass courage." By exploring the lives of World War II soldiers, but for today's conversation, however, I thought we would discuss an often overlooked aspect of being "Badass" and that is how to use fear as an advantage. Instead of a hindrance, often people believe that being a "Badass" means any person is brain because they have no fear. In reality, however, bravery is simply the ability to control or manage a particular figure, and turn it into a positive motivational force to accomplish a goal. This meditational excerpt is from Ulysses S. Grant, and he discusses fear and how he used it as a motivational force during the Civil War. That allowed him to lead his men with confidence. So hopefully by the end of today's conversation dear reader, you will have a better understanding of how to turn your fears into a motivational learning experience. The next time you encounter a scary situation...


Side note: After the Battle of Bull Run, Ulysses S. Grant was appointed colonel of a regiment of infantry. In this excerpt from his personal memoirs, he reveals the anxiety he felt as he led his men in their first serious expedition in Missouri and approached a group of Confederate irregulars led by a colonel named Harris.
As we approached the brow of the hill from which it was expected we could see Harris’s camp, and possibly find his men ready formed to meet us, my heart kept getting higher and higher until it felt to me as though it was in my throat. I would have given anything then to have been back in Illinois, but I had not the moral courage to halt and consider what to do; I kept right on.
When we reached a point from which the valley below was in full view, I halted. The place where Harris had been encamped a few days before was still there and the marks of a recent encampment were plainly visible, but the troops were gone. My heart resumed its place. It occurred to me at once that Harris had been as much afraid of me as I had been of him. This was a view of the question I had never taken before, but it was one I never forgot afterwards. From that event to the close of the war I never experienced trepidation upon confronting an enemy, though I always felt more or less anxiety. I never forgot that he had as much reason to fear my forces as I had his.
The lesson was valuable.