Courage

Knight’s Code Reflection

What is a code? I think the answer to that would depend largely on who you ask. Most of us though, I think, break code down in one of two ways: code either tells us what to do (computer programing), how to present ourselves (dress code), or opens things (pass code). But there is a third variant: aspiration. Codes give us something to aspire to, something to work toward that is both within and beyond ourselves-yet attainable. There are many codes throughout history and time, but one of my favorites (because I am a fantasy and medieval enthusiast) is the Knight’s Code or the Chivalric Code. One of the books I remember reading most vividly as a child was King Arthur and His Knights. That book really made an impression on me and the illustrations of gallant knights are burned in my memory. There are a few variants of the Knight’s Code, but my favorite goes like this: Courage, Strength, Temperance, Humility, Patience, Mercy, Generosity, Nobility, Hope. These are all traits that knights-at least the honorable-ones would seek to embody at all times. I’ll be looking at each of these and break down what they mean to me and how I strive to implement them in my own life.

Point one: Courage.

I really like what Jim Rohn says about courage, “Courage is fearing the right thing at the right time, in the right way.”  Courage is seldom, if ever, the absence of fear. Rather, it is the ability to act in spite of fear. The Chivalric code also has an interesting way of looking at courage; all knights want to fight in glorious battles, but very few want to do the mundane. Sometimes too, we are worried that doing the little things-the mundane, the boring, the routine-will get us nowhere. We focus too much on the big things that we miss the little things that make up life.

Another thing that often takes courage is doing the right thing and doing the right thing with no reward or recognition. Again, this falls more into the mundane, unglamorous side of things, but as Jim Rohn said, “How you do little things is how you do everything.” I also think that life gives us lots of little moments to help prepare us for the big moments. So take the courage to do the right thing and to do the little things. Put others first without expectation of reward or even thanks. Have the courage to put yourself first when you need to and stand up to those people or things that are taking too much. Lastly, have the courage to simply endure. Keep going, keep pressing, keep doing the mundane involved in pursuing your goals and dreams. Endure when everything else around you is telling you to stop because you see both your worth and the worth of what you are trying to accomplish. Success will come if you have the courage to do and endure the big and little things in life. As you endure, as you act in the face of fear, remember the words of Earl Nightengale: “Success is the gradual realization of a worthy ideal.”