Faith or Fear?
There I was, sitting at my kitchen table in the new house my husband and I had just bought. It was 2003. I had a stack of bills in front of me that always seemed to be higher than the amount that was in our checking account needed to pay them. I had just come through a life-threatening illness and was finally asymptomatic.
I recently had returned to my corporate job after four months of being on short-term disability. I knew it was a mistake but the bills had to get paid. After all, I had a responsibility to my family to take care of them. The problem was, no one was taking care of me…including myself.
I sat there staring at the pile of bills and a question hit me: Which one can I do more without, money or my health? It was then that it hit me. If I continued down the same path that made me sick, I would surely end up sick again. Nothing changes if nothing changes. I had to make a change in order to keep my health. Money means nothing unless you are healthy and feel good to enjoy the benefits having money brings. Who wants to travel when they are sick? Who can enjoy their beautiful house if they are working all of the time and then when they are home, they are in bed because they are so exhausted?
It was then that I made a choice. I chose to leave my corporate job and start my own business where I had the flexibility to choose how to spend my time as well as how much money I deserved to make. I chose faith over fear. There were a lot of unknowns in front of me. Would I be successful? What exactly would I do? Would I make enough money? What if I didn’t? I decided I could not afford to be afraid and took the leap. My life depended on it.
Now, almost 10 years later, I can tell you a few things that I learned about choosing to make my decision on faith instead of in fear.
- There is a difference between thinking something and feeling it. It is when you let go of the “what ifs” that your belief takes hold. When you finally feel it, it is then that the thing you want comes to pass.
- There is less energy involved in faith than in fear. Fear drains you…faith feeds you.
- Talking about faith and walking in faith are two different things. Anyone can say that they have faith…very few walk the talk.
- Worry is a lack of faith. Find that part of you down deep that knows you will be okay. It is there. It is just hiding behind the darkness that you call your thoughts.
Finally, every single day take time out to do at least one activity that nurtures you and your soul. Do something that brings you joy even if it is only for 10 minutes. If you find that fear creeps up on you again, realize that the only thing that changes from one moment to the next is the thought you are holding in your mind. Change your thought, do something kind for yourself or someone else and watch with open eyes what the world looks like when you see it through the lens of faith.
Trust me…it is a beauty! 😉
Love you,
Chris
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Now on the Best Seller list at Balboa Press, “Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live: How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life.”
