Quiet Courage Matters
When we talk about courage, most people picture the big stuff—charging into battle, pulling someone from a burning building, blowing the whistle on corruption. But after two years of interviewing people for the Finding Courage project, I’ve learned that courage often looks very different. It’s not always loud or public. Sometimes, it’s almost invisible.
Each story in Finding Courage begins with a nomination—someone saying, “That person’s courage inspires me.” Then I talk to both: the person who saw the courage, and the person who lived it. From those two perspectives, I’ve come to see that courage isn’t always about dramatic moments. It’s just as often about persistence, vulnerability, or quietly staying true to what matters.
Courage that doesn’t see itself
Take Dailan Pugh. For decades, Dailan has fought to protect Australia’s native forests—work that has saved millions of hectares. But when I called him courageous, he resisted the word. For him, courage meant “battling dragons,” not quietly lobbying, writing, and enduring endless pushback.
Mark Graham, who nominated Dailan, saw it differently. He said, “He’s put up with so much crap for so long. To me, courage means strength, resilience and fortitude in the face of adversity—and I see that in Dailan, hands down.”
That conversation made me realise how often the people doing the hard, slow work fail to see their own courage. Quiet courage hides in plain sight.
Courage that only loved ones see
Hannah Martin’s courage wasn’t headline-worthy either. She left Los Angeles in her twenties, searching for a sense of belonging. After years of uncertainty and self-discovery, she finally found a home in the Netherlands. Her mother Debbie told me, “Her courage comes from not just taking big risks, but trying to find herself—that courage to know, ‘I’m out there somewhere.’”
To the outside world, Hannah’s move might look like adventure. But to someone who’d watched her struggle, it was clearly courage—the quiet kind that grows out of persistence and faith.
Courage without ego
When Stephanie Sims nominated her ex-husband Aden Ridgeway, she didn’t talk about his political career or public achievements. She talked about a private journey—Aden trekking to Everest Base Camp after retirement, despite a fear of heights and a history of heart trouble.
For Stephanie, the courage wasn’t in reaching Base Camp. It was in Aden confronting his vulnerability and doing something about it. And what made it even more courageous? He didn’t post about it. Didn’t turn it into a story of conquest. As Stephanie said, “He wasn’t being a show pony about it.”
Why quiet courage matters
Quiet courage rarely makes headlines. It often goes unseen—even by the person showing it. But it’s the kind of courage that holds communities together, that helps people grow, that slowly changes the world.
Dailan’s courage saved forests.
Hannah’s courage helped her find belonging.
Aden’s courage helped him heal.
So maybe courage doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful. Maybe the bravest acts are the ones no one notices.
If you’re reading this, take a moment to think about your own quiet acts of courage—the times you did something hard because it mattered.
Even if no one saw it, it still counts. It’s still courage.