The thinking behind
The Courage Matrix™
The thinking behind
The Courage Matrix™
A deeper look at the framework, the language, and the principles underneath it.
A deeper look at the framework, the language, and the principles underneath it.
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The Courage Matrix™
Where The Courage Matrix™ came from
Where The Courage Matrix™ came from
While writing GO OWN IT ALL, I was exploring what it really means to take ownership in moments that feel uncertain. Slowing down, observing with curiosity, reconnecting to what matters, and acting from presence rather than pressure.
In coaching sessions and workshops, the same patterns kept showing up:
“I know what I want, but something keeps stopping me.”
“On the outside everything looks fine, but inside it doesn’t feel right.”
Those patterns are what led to The Courage Matrix™.
Not as a solution, but as a visual framework to normalize fear, make sense of our reactions, and show what’s happening in both thoughts and body when movement feels hard.
Courage as a tension, not a trait
Courage as a tension, not a trait
Courage isn’t what we often think it is.
It’s not confidence.
It’s not fearlessness.
And it’s not pretending everything is fine.
Courage is what happens when fear and drive meet.
It’s the moment you feel the weight of risk and uncertainty, and still choose to move, because what matters to you carries more weight than what you’re afraid of.
This tension — the pull forward and the pull back at the same time — is the core of what The Courage Matrix™ is designed to make visible.
The Courage Matrix™ helps you notice and work with that tension, rather than trying to eliminate it.
Balancing Head and Heart
Balancing Head and Heart
In The Courage Matrix™, courage shows up where fear and drive guided by your Why meet.
Another way I often describe this is as the balance between head and heart.
Not as an extra axis, but as a way to name the experience many people recognise.
Fear often shows up in the head. In thoughts, doubts, scenarios, and what-ifs.
Your Why often lives in the heart. In what feels meaningful, alive, and worth moving toward.
When head and heart are disconnected, people either get stuck in overthinking, or push forward while ignoring what doesn’t feel right. When they’re connected, fear is acknowledged and action is guided by what matters. That’s where courage lives.
And that’s the tension The Courage Matrix™ is designed to make visible.
Fear, Drive, and Courage — a science-informed perspective
Fear, Drive, and Courage — a science-informed perspective
Below is a clear, science-informed explanation of the three forces at the core of The Courage Matrix™,
written to be practical and easy to grasp.
Courage
Courage
The conscious decision to act in alignment with your values even while fear is present.
Courage is not the absence of fear. It’s the integration of fear. Psychologically, this reflects what’s called behavioral approach despite fear (Norton & Weiss, 2009). It’s that moment when you feel the pull to hide… and still choose to show up. To speak. To shift. To step forward, because something inside you matters more than staying safe.
Fear
Fear
The emotional signal of perceived threat or potential loss — physical, social, or psychological.
In neuroscience, fear is linked to the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) (Gray & McNaughton, 2000), which activates when something feels risky, uncertain, or unsafe. Its job is to slow us down — to keep us alert, cautious, and out of harm’s way.
A key player here is the amygdala, the brain’s emotional alarm system. When the amygdala senses threat (real or perceived), it signals the body to prepare for danger. That includes triggering the BIS, increasing cortisol, and shifting your attention to anything that might go wrong.
Fear can be useful. But when it takes the lead, we freeze, avoid, or stay stuck.
Drive
Drive
The motivational energy that moves us toward what we value or desire.
This corresponds to the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) — our brain’s approach system, activated when we move toward goals and rewards. It’s also central in Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985; 2020), where true, lasting motivation is called autonomous motivation — the kind powered by meaning, purpose, and choice.
Not all drive is equal.
There’s a critical difference between Drive guided by Why and Drive guided by Fear.
Let's unpack them:
Drive guided by Why (Heart)
This IS the kind of Drive we are looking for in The Courage Matrix™
This is a drive that comes from within. From your values. Your vision. Your honest sense of why this matters.
It sounds like:
“This feels aligned.”
“It’s scary, but true.”
“Even if I fail, it’s worth it.”
In this case, the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s decision-making and meaning-making center steps in. It allows you to pause, reflect, and act from intention rather than instinct. You still feel fear, but you’re no longer reacting to it, you’re responding from purpose. This kind of drive places you in the Courage quadrant of the Matrix.
You’re aware of the risk, but you’re also anchored in purpose. It’s not frantic. It’s not forced. It’s intentional action in the face of fear.
Primary neurotransmitter involved: Dopamine
This is your brain’s motivation chemical, it’s released when you anticipate or pursue something rewarding. When your drive is guided by your Why, dopamine supports sustainable, values-based action.
Drive guided by Fear (Head)
This is NOT the kind of Drive we are looking for in The Courage Matrix™
This drive is often shaped by pressure, expectations, or unspoken fears.
It sounds like:
“I have to prove myself.”
“If I don’t do this, I’ll fall behind.”
“What will they think if I stop?”
This kind of drive can look like action on the outside, but inside, it’s fueled by anxiety.
Primary hormone involved: Cortisol
Known as the stress hormone, cortisol prepares your body for threat, increasing alertness, tightening muscles, and sometimes flooding the mind with anxious thoughts.
Prolonged BIS activation can lead to overwhelm, avoidance, and chronic stress.
It often pushes you into the Momentum quadrant of the The Courage Matrix™, but not in a sustainable way.
It’s forward motion, but driven by avoidance. Eventually, it leads to overdrive, burnout, or disconnection.
In short:
When fear drives your choices, you move from pressure.
When why drives your choices, you move from purpose.
So, when I say:
Courage = Fear acknowledged + Drive guided by Why, that’s not just poetic, it’s scientifically sound.
The Courage Matrix™
The Courage Matrix™
The Courage Matrix™ doesn’t tell you where you should be. It’s a simple visual model that helps you see where you are between fear and drive guided by your Why.
Those two forces interact in any moment.
It gives you a snapshot of what’s driving you right now, and whether that drive is guided by fear or by your Why, shaping your behavior, your choices, and your next step.
The goal isn’t to become fearless, to eliminate fear, suppress it, or wait for it to disappear, because Courage and fearlessness are not the same thing. Fearlessness is the absence of fear. Courage is the choice to act with it.
How It Works
How It Works
The Courage Matrix™ two axes:
The vertical axis measures Fear - from low (feeling safe or calm) to high (feeling anxious or uncertain).
The horizontal axis measures Drive — from low (no direction or energy) to high (strong desire to act, guided by Why).
Where those two forces meet determines your current state - your "zone."
Each one serves a purpose. The goal isn't to stay in one, but to move through them consciously.
Comfort
Fear: Low | Drive: Low
State: Stable, safe, but static
Purpose: Restoration, safety, and integration. Comfort is where you recharge and feel grounded. It’s essential for stability and recovery after periods of growth. But if you linger too long, comfort becomes complacency, the illusion of safety that quietly keeps you small.
Usefulness: Rest, self-trust, and recalibration.
Growth Invitation: Reconnect to meaning, ask “What would bring me alive again?”
Paralysis
Fear: High | Drive: Low
State: Stuck, overthinking
Purpose: Protection, reflection, and awareness. Paralysis isn’t failure, it’s your system’s way of saying, “Something feels unsafe or unclear.” When fear floods the body or clarity disappears, paralysis offers a natural pause. It invites you to slow down, regulate, and reconnect to what matters before taking action. It’s uncomfortable, yes, but it’s often the gateway to truth, showing you what you care about deeply enough to fear losing.
Usefulness: Emotional awareness, nervous system regulation, and reconnection to your Why.
Growth Invitation: Name your fear, rebuild drive — start small, reconnect to your why.
Courage
Fear: High | Drive: High
State: Engaged, vulnerable
Purpose: Integration and expansion. This is where fear and drive coexist — the place where you take aligned action despite uncertainty. Here, you grow your capacity, strengthen self-trust, and build resilience by doing the thing while afraid.
It’s not about feeling brave. This zone is about acting from purpose rather than panic, even while fear is present.
Usefulness: Growth, confidence through action, embodied self-trust.
Growth Invitation: Integrate fear and action — move with fear, not after it.
Momentum
Fear: Low | Drive: High
State: Flow, expansion
Purpose: Flow, expression, and creation. Momentum is movement in motion — a state of ease and focus where things click. But if your drive becomes disconnected from your Why, it can slip into overdrive, leaving you drained or disconnected. Momentum is healthiest when it’s aligned — when flow serves meaning, not avoidance.
Usefulness: Creativity, progress, and aligned productivity.
Growth Invitation: Stay aligned to your why — reflect, celebrate, and stay curious.
How GO OWN IT ALL and The Courage Matrix™ work together
How GO OWN IT ALL and The Courage Matrix™ work together
The Courage Matrix™ helps you see where you are.
GO OWN IT ALL helps you move from there, step by step.
If you realize you’re in Paralysis, GO OWN IT ALL walks you through:
Observe what’s really happening beneath the fear.
Reconnect to your Why — your personal compass.
Narrow it down to one small, doable action.
Take that InterAction.
Track what changes.
Whether your fear is tangible , like flying , or more internal , like feeling directionless. The Courage Matrix™ gives you awareness, and the method gives you momentum.
The magic happens when you integrate both. Together, they turn fear into fuel and drive into direction.
The Four GO OWN IT ALL Values and The Courage Matrix™
The Four GO OWN IT ALL Values and The Courage Matrix™
The Courage Matrix™ is built on the dynamic between head and heart, between fear and drive guided by why.
The four core values of GO OWN IT ALL map beautifully onto that balance.
Value 1: Presence (Heart → Awareness)
Presence is what allows you to notice where you are on the Matrix in the first place. Without presence, fear takes over automatically; you react instead of respond. Presence grounds you in the moment — it’s what quiets the noise long enough to see what’s really happening in your mind and body.
Presence balances the head by anchoring you in the heart.Value 2: Connection (Heart → Meaning)
Connection gives the “why” its emotional power. When you reconnect to yourself, others, and what truly matters, you activate the Drive guided by Why. That’s what transforms drive from pressure to purpose.
Connection fuels the heart side of the Matrix, turning drive into something meaningful rather than performative.Value 3: Ownership (Head → Choice)
Ownership is where the head finds clarity. It’s about seeing your fears, patterns, and actions honestly — and choosing your response. Ownership integrates awareness and agency: “Yes, I feel this fear. And here’s what I choose to do.”
Ownership bridges the head and heart, turning awareness into action.Value 4: Courage (Integration → Movement)
Courage is the intersection point — where fear (head) and why (heart) meet. It’s the active expression of all the other values combined. Presence gives awareness, Connection gives meaning, Ownership gives agency — and Courage is the act of moving with all three aligned.
Courage is not just a value — it’s the outcome of living the other three.
What The Courage Matrix™ Helps Us With
What The Courage Matrix™ Helps Us With
The Courage Matrix™ is not a performance tool. It’s a reflection tool, a way to meet yourself with more honesty, self-awareness, and compassion.
The Courage Matrix™ helps you See where you are without judgment.
It’s normal to feel stuck. It’s normal to freeze. There’s nothing wrong with you. Your brain is wired for safety. Fear kicks in. Hormones like cortisol rise. Your nervous system does exactly what it was designed to do.The Courage Matrix™ helps you recognize and respond with heart instead of fear.
Understand what’s driving your behavior. Are you moving from Drive guided by Why? Or reacting from fear, pressure, or expectation? Or… is there no drive at all right now? Sometimes you’re not moving because you’re depleted, other times it's because you’ve lost connection to what truly drives you. That’s a signal to pause, not push.The Courage Matrix™ helps you spot the small shifts that create change.
Each quadrant has its own emotional tone, energy, and internal story. Once you know where you are, you can ask: "What would need to shift — in mindset, energy, or action — to move toward Courage?” Just notice which sliders need adjusting: Is fear overwhelming your system? Is your Drive guided by Why strong, and is it enough to guide you forward? Do you need rest, support, clarity, or permission?The Courage Matrix™ helps you normalize how you feel and where you are in life.
Growth isn’t linear. You will cycle through all four quadrants, again and again.The Courage Matrix™ helps you meet each phase with more self-trust, more language, and fewer stories of failure.
There’s no “right” quadrant to be in
There’s no “right” quadrant to be in
Each one serves a purpose:
Comfort helps you integrate and rest.
Paralysis reveals what feels unsafe or unclear, it’s a signal, not a failure.
Courage expands your capacity by moving with fear, not against it.
Momentum expresses your energy and drive, and reminds you to stay aligned to your Why.
The goal is not to stay in one quadrant forever, but to move through them consciously, notice, adjust, and act with intention.
The Courage Matrix™ In Practise
The Courage Matrix™ In Practise
Let’s make this come alive with a practical example: Fear of Flying
You want to visit family abroad. Or take the dream trip that’s been on your list for years. But just the thought of boarding a plane makes your chest tighten, your hands sweat, your mind spiral. You freeze.
Fear: High
Drive: Low (or disconnected from your Why and guided by Fear)
This is Paralysis on The Courage Matrix™
Your system isn’t glitching, it’s protecting you. From a neuroscience perspective, this is classic BIS activation (Behavioral Inhibition System). The amygdala, your brain’s emotional alarm center, detects the perceived threat (flying), and triggers cortisol release — the stress hormone.
Your brain-body system says:
“This feels unsafe. Let’s shut it down.”
And so, you freeze. Avoid. Overthink. Procrastinate. Cancel the trip.
The Courage Matrix™ helps you pause and ask:
Where am I right now, emotionally, mentally, physiologically?
Is fear running the show?
Am I connected to my deeper Why or just reacting to discomfort?
It gives you a language and a visual anchor to normalize the fear response and gently shift toward action — not by pushing through, but by moving with care and clarity.
To help someone move from Paralysis toward Courage, a coach might ask:
What is the fear really saying or trying to protect?
Am I connected to my deeper Why or just reacting to discomfort?
What’s the deeper reason you want to fly?
What’s the worst that could happen — and how likely is it?
When have you done something scary before — and come out okay?
What would a small first step look like?
How would it feel to choose based on your values instead of your fear?
These questions help activate the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s decision-making and meaning-making center. In doing so you gently shift away from the reactive pull of the amygdala.
The key is to crank up the volume on Drive guided by Why, your reason for moving forward. The stronger your connection to freedom, love, growth, adventure, or whatever your Why is, the more your brain shifts out of survival mode… and into meaningful action.
In scientific terms, this is activating the Behavioral Activation System (BAS), the brain’s natural approach system. It helps release dopamine, fueling courage that’s grounded in values instead of panic.
In short:
Amygdala fires.
You pause.
Prefrontal cortex engages.
Dopamine is released.
A small, aligned action is taken.
You’re responding instead of reacting.
Courage doesn’t mean forcing yourself onto a 10-hour flight.
It might mean:
Learning how turbulence actually works
Talking to someone who flies regularly
Booking a short flight first
Visualizing what being there will feel like
Asking someone to travel with you
Practicing calming techniques ahead of time
Each step, guided by your Why, by purpose instead of pressure. It helps shift the system from Paralysis to Courage.
How You Build Courage
How You Build Courage
The Courage Matrix™ isn’t a test to pass, courage is something you build. Once you can see the loop, you can navigate it consciously instead of getting lost in it.
Comfort → Paralysis → Courage → Momentum → back to Comfort.
Each time, you learn something new about yourself. Fear becomes less of an enemy and more of a signal. It's a reminder that you’re standing at the edge of something meaningful.
Sometimes you move from Paralysis to Courage — you act, grow, expand — and then something new triggers fear again.
Other times you find yourself in Momentum, flowing and confident, until a setback pulls you back into hesitation and Paralysis.
The Courage Matrix™ Honors The Process
The Courage Matrix™ Honors The Process
It doesn’t bypass the body’s response, it works with it, and meets you where you are the moment fear kicks in.
Pair it with GO OWN IT ALL, and you’ve got a practical, science-informed way to move from stuck to action, with clarity, not pressure.
Together, they help you understand what’s happening inside you and give you a way to move forward that actually works for you.
Try It Yourself!
Try It Yourself!
Think of a situation you’re facing right now, something you want to do, decide, or change. It could be work-related, personal, creative, or even a hard conversation you’ve been avoiding.
Now ask yourself:
How much Fear is present right now? (Be honest.)
How strong is your Drive and is it guided by your Why or by Fear?
Based on that, place yourself on the matrix.
Once you’ve plotted yourself, ask:
“What would need to shift, in mindset, energy, or action, to move toward a different quadrant?”
Even one shift is a move.
Wrapping It Up
Wrapping It Up
When I look back at the moment I left stability behind, fear didn’t disappear. I acknowledged it. I faced it. And I asked myself the deeper question: What’s guiding me — fear or purpose?
That’s what courage feels like. Not certainty, but clarity. Not control, but alignment.
So, where are you on The Courage Matrix™ right now, stuck, safe, flowing, or courageous? And what’s one small, honest step you can take today?
If this resonates, explore GO OWN IT ALL , a practical, step-by-step method to help you move from awareness to action, from fear to flow.
© 2025 Luca Savazzi | The Courage Matrix™ is an original framework by Luca Savazzi.
References
Gray, J. A., & McNaughton, N. (2000). The Neuropsychology of Anxiety: An Enquiry into the Functions of the Septo-Hippocampal System. Oxford University Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985/2020). Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness.
Norton, P. J., & Weiss, B. J. (2009). “The Role of Courage on Behavioral Approach in a Fear Context.” Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(10), 908–915.
Frontiers in Psychology (2024). “Dual-Process Model of Courage: Value-Based Action and Fear Response.”
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