Deb and I recently had a wonderful weekend in Sydney, enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes, and also some precious time with my amazing mentor, Glenda. As we sat with her for breakfast on Monday morning last week, she shared with us some incredible insights. None more profound than when the words came out of her mouth, referring to becoming the best we can be, Fear drives, but faith leads.
As I listened to Glenda and thought about this statement, it started making sense. For much of my life I have been driven, and I think many people could relate to that also. When I reflect on my own drive, and the foundation of it, one word comes to my mind. That word is FEAR. I was driven to be a professional athlete in fear that if I didn’t achieve something big, I would not be accepted or respected. As a personal trainer, I was driven to create a body that people would admire in fear of being rejected and unloved. In business I drove myself to the brink of disaster for the fear of failure. Can you relate to any of these?
The question that needs to be asked, and it’s an important one, is, did the outcome of the things I was driven to achieve alleviate the fear? I can tell you, in no uncertain terms, it did not! In fact, if anything it compounded the fear. I remember when I made it at the top level of sport, the fear simply changed. Instead of a fear of being accepted and respected, it became a fear of whether I could maintain it or actually even deserved it. When I achieved a body that was strong, fit, and athletic, the fear turned to one as a result of comparison. I was scared that I wasn’t as ‘ripped and rockhard’ as other people and that, again, I would be found out as an imposter. In my business, the harder I worked, the greater the fear of loss or failure became. It was a horrible cycle that I could not escape. Until I found faith.
My first experience with being led by faith, that I can actually identify, was before I really had any idea of the power of faith. I have told the story many times about my decision to write my first book. There is no doubt in my mind that it was faith-based. How do I know that? Firstly, it made no logical sense, therefore it required total faith to actually believe it could be done. Secondly, and I think most significantly, unlike my other aspirations, I was led to write my first book, not driven. I was led by a vision, I was led by curiosity, and I was led by a feeling that this was the path I needed to follow to have the impact and create the life I wanted. The fact that becoming an author started me on the path to find my purpose in life, when writing a book was never something I thought I could do or wanted to do, is absolute evidence of the power of faith in my life.
Looking back now, as a Christian, I know that the voice I heard to write the book was God’s voice. Since becoming a Christian, and slowly and reluctantly giving up the need to be in control of every situation and the need to be driven by fear, I have been led more and more each day by the wonderful power of faith. Faith is a feeling that pulls you in a direction, even one that may not seem logical and probably totally flies in the face of what mainstream society would accept. In Hebrews 11:1 it says, Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of thing not seen. In other words, it leads us based on an understanding that if we just dare to follow the feeling, we will end up exactly where we need to be, even if we have no idea where that is or how to get there.
I think we can all share experiences of when we just followed a gut feeling without any idea or answers and ended up just where we needed and wanted to be. Even if we didn’t know that’s what we wanted until we got there. This my friend is faith. To be led by faith, you simply have to let go. Let go of what? Let go of the need to have all the answers. Let go of the need to be in control. Let go of the feeling that your value is wrapped up in your achievement. Let go of the drive to do something because of fear. When you believe in a higher power, in my case God, you know you are loved, protected, and led to exactly where you need to be to live a life of meaning, joy, and love.
In my podcast this week with Linn Rivers called Vibrant Wellness, we discuss her being led by faith to overcome many health challenges and traumatic situations from a young age, to be living her own life of joy, wellness, and meaning. This is a challenging thing to do if, like me, you have believed your whole life that, “If it is to be, it is up to me”. You and I can’t do it alone, and the more we try, the more we stay stuck in the cycle of fear. It is my greatest encouragement this week that you allow yourself to be led by faith.