The Power of Authenticity: How Living in Alignment Can Save Your Life

Let’s be real. Most people spend years trying to fit into boxes they were never meant to live in. We wear masks, chase validation, and perform for approval until one day the weight of pretending crushes us. That’s the moment authenticity stops being a luxury and becomes a lifeline.

Welcome to Positive Vibes. I’m your host, Nicki Dennis, and today’s guest, Nic Collins, knows firsthand what happens when you abandon yourself for acceptance. Behind his calm voice and grounded energy is a story marked by depression, substance abuse, and the dark thoughts that nearly ended everything. Through self-awareness, therapy, and the courage to be honest, Nic found his way back, and he’s been helping others do the same ever since.

Losing Yourself in the Climb

Nic’s story starts like so many of ours. He followed the script.
Go to school. Get a job. Climb the ladder. Make money.
And he did, until the pressure, drinking, and emptiness caught up with him.

By his late twenties, Nic was successful on paper but dying inside. He’d been living out a version of success that wasn’t his own. The result was depression, a lost sense of identity, and a suicide attempt that became a painful but powerful wake-up call.

“I thought something was wrong with me. I thought I was broken. Turns out, the parts I was trying to hide were actually my best parts.”

How many of us are hiding the very qualities that make us who we are, just to fit a version of life we never chose?

The Long Road Back to Alignment

There was no single lightbulb moment for Nic. It was a slow, messy curve back toward himself. Therapy became the cornerstone. Week after week, he showed up, talking, crying, peeling back layers of guilt and shame.

He learned that expressing emotion didn’t make him weak. It made him real.
When he stopped numbing his pain with alcohol, the real healing began.

Sobriety did not happen overnight. It happened one day at a time.

“I just said, I’m not going to drink today. That’s it. One day turned into a week, a month, a year, and six years later I’m still saying the same thing. Just not today.”

It’s not perfection. It’s progress. That’s what authenticity looks like in practice.

What Authenticity Actually Means

For Nic, authenticity is not about being loud or rebellious. It is about being congruent, when your actions match your values and your inner truth aligns with your outer world.

“Being authentic gives you permission to be yourself, to act in ways that feel true, natural, and genuine.”

He stopped performing for others. No more corporate mask. No more pretending.
He started living each day as himself, unapologetically. The ripple effect was undeniable. Authentic energy is contagious. When you are real, people around you feel safe to be real too.

Micro Goals: Build Change One Step at a Time

Nic credits his transformation to something deceptively simple: micro goals.
Instead of big resolutions that collapse under pressure, he created 30-day commitments, tiny, doable steps that built lasting habits.

Run a 5K every day for 30 days
Meditate for a month
Journal daily
Read one chapter a day

One month became two. Two became a year.
Those small wins rebuilt his confidence and identity brick by brick.

Mindfulness, Movement, and Meaning

Nic’s mental health routine is not complicated. It is consistent. He runs every day. He meditates. He plays guitar. He spends time in nature. He prioritizes presence over perfection.

“I used to feel like I was chasing the day. Now I walk with it.”

That shift, slowing down enough to feel your life, is the heartbeat of mindfulness. It lets you catch your breath, hear your own thoughts, and stay grounded when the world gets loud.

Creating Safe Spaces for Men

Through The Advance, a men’s gathering in the mountains of North Georgia, Nic is building space for men to connect, talk, and heal without judgment or pretense.

No alcohol. No ego. No small talk. Just honesty, support, and brotherhood.

“We weren’t there to compare job titles or salaries. We were there to be human, to drop the armor and just be.”

For men taught to bottle emotion, spaces like these are revolutionary. Vulnerability is not weakness. It is strength in its purest form.

Wisdom to Live By

Nic carries a few mantras that keep him aligned:

“You gotta jump in to swim.” — Mac Miller

“Not all crazy ideas are great, but all great ideas are crazy.” — Mike Posner

They are reminders to take action, embrace discomfort, and follow what feels alive, even when it does not make sense to anyone else. That is where real growth happens.

Start Small. Start Now.

If you feel disconnected, lost, or out of alignment, do not wait for permission.
Start by listening to yourself.

Take five minutes tonight. Breathe. Ask:

What do I really want? What feels true for me?

Then take one small, honest step toward that truth tomorrow.
Authenticity begins in micro decisions that honor who you are.

Final Thought

Authenticity is not just inspiring. It is life-saving. When you stop performing and start aligning, you reclaim your peace, your purpose, and your power.

As Nic puts it:

“Every day I wake up feels like a bonus. I could’ve been gone, but I’m here, and I’m going to make it count.”

You do not need to become someone new to change your life.
You need to come home to who you already are.