Courage: live your truth

Courage is the breakthrough level on David Hawkins’ Map of Consciousness. The levels of consciousness on his map can be seen as levels of awareness, or energy, ranging from very low energy (anxiety, guilt, anger.) to high energy (acceptance, love, peace), to name a few. He calibrated courage at the consciousness level 200, explaining that at this critical level our quality of life changes.

This is why showing courage is so good for us. When we act courageously, we operate at higher energies. We quite literally feel more alive, and more powerful. Courage is also vital for following our soul path. This path is uniquely ours. Only we can walk it, and only we truly know what lies along it. No one else can feel what feels right or wrong for us, and no one else can make the choices that are ours to make.

To follow this path, we need the courage to be authentic and true to ourselves. And this is an important distinction: it is the courage we show for ourselves that truly counts when it comes to inner work. Being courageous for others is kind and often admirable, but it does not replace the courage required to face our fears, to make honest choices, and to live in alignment with our own truth.

This kind of courage shows up in everyday moments, like having the courage to say “yes” or “no”. Ending a relationship that is holding you back. Leaving an unfulfilling job. Walking into a restaurant and having dinner alone. Going on holiday by yourself. Or starting that blog you have been thinking about for years.

That last one was mine.

I finally did it in December. I had been talking about wanting to start a blog for years. I planned it endlessly in my mind. I would say to friends, “I haven’t got time right now,” and they would say, “Make the time.” I would say, “It’s all been said before, there are so many blogs like this out there,” and they would say, “So do it for yourself.”

Eventually, I ran out of excuses.

But the real game changer for me was when a friend told me that there is a kind of club out there. A club of people who have taken the jump, taken risks, and are now on the other side. People who smile differently because they know how it feels to leap and to land on their feet. I realised that I wanted to belong to that club.

When we have the courage to show our true selves and live our truth, it can make others in our lives feel uncomfortable, or even threatened. When we change, they may be forced to change their view of us, their perception of who we are. That can rock their boat. But we are not living their lives, and we are not here to live the version of our life that exists in someone else’s head. We need the courage to live our version of life - to live the path we chose for it.

I feel that showing courage and living our truth is particularly important in 2026. Numerologically, this year is the 1 (or "the one"!), a year of new beginnings. It has the potential to catapult us towards our soul purpose. We might as well begin consciously, by making our own decisions and taking our own steps, before they are taken for us. When life forces movement, it can be painful. Courage also moves us out of victimhood. When we take a risk, when we choose consciously, we step out of passivity and into our power.

This is where growth begins.