What Did Shaan Puri Tell His Scared Son?

Shaan Puri says courage is feeling fear and then going through with the action anyway. People assume motivation means wanting to act or knowing it will go well, and they assume courage means no fear, uncertainty, or doubt. He says both are the same move: feel it, then go through it anyway. Nobody calls a person courageous for taking a sip when nothing is on the line. The same sip looks brave only when that person is actually afraid.

Shaan Puri's son would not walk into jujitsu, tennis, or basketball. The boy was born during COVID and froze at the door: let go of a parent's hand, meet a stranger, join a bunch of kids. Shaan Puri had driven him, paid, and gone inside the last three times. A teacher emailed that parents should stay outside. The boy did not know what email is. Shaan Puri felt frustrated. The boy felt afraid and wanted to stay with his parents.

Shaan Puri changed approach. He told his son he used to cry all the time at gymnastics, and his mom says crying there is super common. He asked if the boy felt scared, said the feeling was okay, and said sometimes the fear wins. Courage sits in the heart, fear sits in the stomach, and they fight.