The Courage Threshold

“You cannot swim to new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” -- William Faulkner

We have all heard stories of people who bravely risked or sacrificed their safety to go first, help another, or save a beloved group.

Those who traveled west to stake a claim on their freedom and ability to grow their own crops. Astronauts and warriors who handle dangers both known and unknown that were impossible to imagine.

What is this thing we call courage, and how can we cross the Courage Threshold?

Understanding courage: The dictionary states that courage is “the mental and moral strength to act rightly despite fear, danger, or difficulty, often involving vulnerability and stepping outside your comfort zone for a worthy goal, rather than the absence of fear.” If courage is action in the face of fear and not the absence of it, why risk it?

When you are courageous, you transcend the selfishness and cruelty of your primitive brain and enter the realms of collaboration, mutual enhancement, and synergy. This is explained in greater detail in both our Accomplishing Goals with Ease video class and the How to Create a Paradigm Shift primer on Claiming the Prize, available in our Insight Vault.

Courage is also the ability to listen to one’s heart in service to a higher calling that cares for and protects those who cannot defend themselves. That is referred to as protecting the meek.

Dr. David Hawkins on the importance of Courage. In the groundbreaking work Power versus Force (1995, Veritas Press), he maps, through calibration, human levels of energy and consciousness. It is here that Dr. Hawkins identified the point at which human beings shift from life-depleting, self-serving, and harmful choices to life-affirming, individually and collectively beneficial behaviors and choices.

Where exactly does that shift occur?

At The Courage Threshold or Level 200 in Dr. Hawkins’s maps of consciousness. According to Dr. Hawkins, “Courage is where power first appears. When we test subjects at all energy levels below courage, we find they are weak. Everyone responds strongly to the life-supporting field of Courage. This is the critical line that distinguishes positive and negative influences in life. This is the zone of exploration, accomplishment, fortitude, and determination. At lower levels, the world is seen as hopeless, sad, frightening, or frustrating; but at the level of Courage, life is seen to be exciting, challenging, and stimulating.” (page 84, Power vs Force, 1995).

The good news is that we spend time there without a second thought when we help, encourage, and see others as part of our human family. Having an honest chat with a difficult family member can make us want to hide under the bed, but we still find the time and place to do our best.

Why is courage the key to our success?

As Einstein said, you cannot solve a problem at the same level of thinking that created it. Update that to “You cannot solve a problem at the same level of consciousness that created it.”

The complex solutions required today demand a sense of purpose and innovation driven by courage instead of fear. Finer, more sustainable solutions are built and implemented where courage abounds.

Over the years, I have seen the remarkable courage of friends, family, clients, and mentees, all stepping up daily to confront unfamiliar places bravely and faces as they learn to stand in their authentic presence. That takes enormous courage.

Congratulate yourself and keep it going!

“Don’t give in to your fears; if you do, you won’t be able to talk to your heart.”

--Paulo Coelho

Join our monthly Encouragement Labs online series to practice commanding your Courage Threshold in a way that generates a lifestyle that honors, nourishes, and delights you as it uplifts the world. Learn to appreciate yourself and the courage of those around you.

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Check out our four-part primer on How to Create a Paradigm Shift to go deeper.

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