The real courage Coelho identifies isn't in the goodbye itself—it's in tolerating the emptiness between goodbye and hello, that unsettling interval when you've released something but nothing has arrived to fill its place. Most people mistake this as weakness rather than the prerequisite for growth. When someone finally closes a depleting friendship or leaves a job that's dulled their mind, they often expect immediate vindication, some fresh opportunity waiting at the door; instead, they sit with discomfort for weeks or months, wondering if they've made a terrible mistake. The quote's wisdom lies in naming that patience as its own kind of bravery, the kind that lets life reorganize itself around who you're actually becoming.