Brave or Crazy?

So the twins just ended their athletics term at school. The process for them to join the school team is you come for trials, and if you come in top four, you join the team. On the day  of the trials, Zaya made the team, and  Joana didn’t. She was very disappointed but her twin said something and we all laughed. He told her to just keep showing for practice as if she was part of the team, and that is exactly what she did. At that point, we thought this was crazy. Who joins a team they didn’t qualify for? On the first day of practice, she was allowed to run and surprised everyone by coming second. She kept on showing up for practice and ended up making the team and representing the school for the rest of the term. Yes,she rejected the rejection she got 😃.

At some point, we have all watched someone make a decision and thought to ourselves, “Wow, that’s either brave… or downright crazy.” The funny thing is, the brave verdict usually comes later when we already know the outcome. In the moment that the decision is being made and things are unfolding, it looks crazy.

Quit your job to start a business that takes off? People will call you courageous, visionary,  a go-getter. Quit that same job and the business collapses within a year? Suddenly, the very same people will whisper that you were reckless. The decision is the same. The only difference is how it turned out and who is observing.

That’s the thing about bold moves: they live in that fragile space between bravery and madness. Bravery is never tidy. It’s messy, and it’s uncomfortable and full of doubt. To the outsider, it looks like madness. Why leave security for uncertainty? Why walk away from comfort for risk? Or in Joana’s case, why show up where you have been told not to?

If we check our history, every breakthrough, every innovation, every leap forward was once someone’s “crazy idea.” Airplanes, electricity, mobile money, even your favorite brand’s bold marketing campaign. They all started out as something that could have failed spectacularly. And sometimes they did fail. But the attempt itself shifted things, and that’s where courage lives.


Whether your choice is labeled brave or crazy depends on who is watching.

– The cautious will see danger.
– The dreamers will see possibility.
-The critics will see recklessness.
– The grateful beneficiaries, years later, will call you a pioneer.

So maybe the real question isn’t what people call you, but whose voice you’ll allow to define your story.

This isn’t a new dilemma. Abraham in Genesis 12 is a perfect example. God told him in verse 1  to leave his people and go “to the land I will show you.” He had no map or detailed five year or ten year plan, but just a promise of being a great nation. I have a wild imagination, and I imagine how this must have gone down as he was saying his goodbyes to his family and friends. I’m sure they must have thought, “This guy has lost it.” Who moves without knowing where they are going? Crazy, right?

It was that very act of obedience that became the foundation of a nation. What seemed reckless was actually faith. So, brave or crazy?

It’s not about the labels. It’s about the faith behind the step. Brave or crazy is often just hindsight’s judgment. But faith is about trusting the One who leads, even when the path looks uncertain, even when others don’t understand. When God is the one writing your story, what looks crazy to the world can turn out to be the bravest, wisest move of your life. When you know God’s voice and His leading in your life, you will step out in faith.

Abraham’s journey wasn’t smooth even though God had given him a promise. In Genesis 12 verse 2-3, he was given a promise, but by verse 10 of the same chapter, he was facing a famine in the land that he had been promised. He had to go to Egypt for a while. The famine did not negate the promise that God had given him, and this is the same for you. The challenges that you face don’t negate that you were called by God and that He has good plans for you.

I am grateful to the coach who gave Joana another chance to try again. The lesson for her was that you can try again if at first you don’t succeed.

Gratitude: This week, I am grateful for the gift  that my siblings are. My immediate older sister is celebrating her birthday this week, and her real excitement has been contagious and has the whole family WhatsApp group excited too.😊 Happy birthday 🎂 Sheila! You are ‘crazy’ and we love you just the way you are.

On my playlist this week is Can’t Help But Praise by Jordan Colle.

Gratefully