Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke.

Both can look alike from a distance, all noise and heat and a person unafraid of a scene. The difference is what each one costs the person doing it. Courage puts you at risk: you speak where you might lose something, you stand where you could be hurt. Bullying puts someone weaker at risk and keeps the bully perfectly safe, which is why it fills the room without ever burning anything of its own.

When you feel bold this week, check who is exposed by what you are about to say. If the answer is only someone with less standing than you, that is smoke.