Can someone please explain Aristotle's Golden Mean?

It's the idea that perfection is found in balance, not in extremism. For instance, if I lack bravery to an extreme, I am a coward. But if I go to the other extreme, my bravery leads me to take foolish chances without care for my own survival. This makes things complicated, because I can't tell someone they should always be brave, because even though it's cool, they'll get themselves killed if they take the message at face value. If I tell someone to never be brave because they could get killed, then what happens next? They take the message at face value, and they don't take the chances they should take. The answer isn't a simple always do or always don't, it's learning to balance when to do, and when not to. At that point, I have to figure out what's important to me and take chances when what I value is at stake, and learn to let it go if it isn't important.