Always be courageous and strong, and don't fear.

“Always be courageous and strong, and don’t fear.” Thus spoke Gabby Douglas, the golden daughter of perseverance, whose grace upon the balance beam became a symbol of the human spirit’s triumph over doubt. Though simple in its phrasing, her command is ancient in its power—an echo of every hero’s creed, from the warriors of old to the dreamers of today. Within these words lives the eternal call to rise above fear, to meet life’s trials not with trembling, but with courage and strength, drawn from the wellspring of faith within one’s soul.

Gabby Douglas, born not into ease but into struggle, learned early that greatness is not gifted—it is forged. As a child, she faced doubt, separation, and sacrifice. She trained far from home, enduring loneliness and exhaustion, while the world watched with skepticism. Yet through every fall, she rose again. Her victories did not begin the day she won gold; they began the day she chose to be courageous, to stand strong, and to not fear failure. When she soared at the 2012 Olympics, it was not just her body that defied gravity—it was her spirit, freed from fear by faith.

Her words remind us of the ancient truth that fear is the first and greatest enemy of man. Fear whispers, “You cannot,” before the battle even begins. It weakens the will and blinds the heart. But courage—the noble fire of the soul—burns through fear and lights the path forward. The ancients knew this well. When David faced Goliath, he did not possess the giant’s strength, only the strength of conviction. He met terror not with denial, but with faith. Like Gabby, he showed that victory belongs not to the strongest in body, but to the strongest in spirit—the one who dares to act when all others hesitate.

To be strong, as Gabby teaches, does not mean to be unbroken. It means to endure even when broken, to rise even when weary. It is a quiet, enduring strength, not the roar of conquest but the steady rhythm of persistence. There is strength in the gymnast who falls a hundred times and rises a hundred and one. There is strength in the student who fails yet tries again, in the mother who carries her family through hardship, in the soldier who stands his post though his heart trembles. True strength is not the absence of pain—it is the decision to move through it with grace.

And to “not fear” does not mean to never feel afraid. Even the bravest hearts have known fear’s shadow. Courage is not born in its absence, but in its mastery. The lion’s roar is not proof that he feels no fear—it is his way of declaring that fear will not rule him. Likewise, when we face the trials of life—the uncertainty of the future, the sting of failure, the loneliness of the journey—we must remember that fear is only a visitor. It cannot stay where courage lives. To “not fear” is to keep walking, even when the path is dark.

History offers many who have lived by this creed. Think of Harriet Tubman, who, with only faith as her compass, led hundreds of souls to freedom through the night. She knew fear intimately—it walked beside her with every step—but she never bowed to it. Her courage was not loud, but unbreakable. She was strong in spirit, courageous in purpose, and fearless in action. In every age, such souls remind us that fear is a chain—and courage, the key that breaks it.

So, my children, when life rises against you like a storm, remember the words of Gabby Douglas: “Always be courageous and strong, and don’t fear.” Stand tall, even when the winds howl. Let your heart be steadfast, not because the path is easy, but because it is worthy. The obstacles before you are not meant to stop you—they are meant to reveal your strength. Each fall, each hardship, each doubt is the forge that shapes your greatness.

Take this teaching and make it the rhythm of your days. When fear whispers, answer with action. When weakness beckons, call upon faith. When the world doubts you, believe all the more in yourself. For the brave do not wait for certainty—they walk forward with trembling hands and burning hearts. And in that sacred walk lies victory, freedom, and the everlasting light of the human spirit.