Last week was about Super Mario, Super Stars, and recognizing we can’t be invincible all the time.  This week is about Luigi, fear, and bravery.

In case you aren’t familiar, in the Super Mario series, Mario (in red) has a brother named Luigi (in green).  Mario is typically player 1 and Luigi is player 2.  Mario is portrayed as a happy go lucky hero, always there to save the day.  Luigi is typically portrayed as anxious, nervous, and afraid.  He gets startled and scared easily.  They both end up saving the Mushroom Kingdom and other kingdoms on their joint and solo adventures.

At the surface level, Mario is the hero we all want to be.  He always seems to be confident and sure of himself, saving the day with a smile on his face.  However, I’d argue that Luigi is actually the braver hero.  Luigi is consumed by fear, yet he understands that his mission (saving the kingdom, his friends, and/or his brother) is worth fighting for.  Luigi is terrified, AND he continues to step into scary and difficult situations in order to do the right thing.  Luigi might be player 2, but he’s number 1 in my heart 😉 #smooth

What does this have to do with anything?  Similar to Mario and Luigi, it’s easy to assume that bravery and heroism looks like the outwardly confident person who saves the day.  However, this isn’t the only way to be a hero.  Often, the real hero is the one who faces their own fears, their own personal demons, and keeps moving forward.  This is the person who says, “This is going to be an uncomfortable discussion, AND I’m going to lean into it anyway.” or “I’m afraid of this challenge before me, AND I’m still going to tackle it.”  Whenever you feel fear in your life, I hope you’re like Luigi.  I hope you allow that feeling to wash over you, AND still find a way to take a step forward.

The challenge: How can you better embrace your inner Luigi to be brave in the midst of fear?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry