Faith without action is probably hopeless. We need a plan in place with actionable steps and measurable progress. Otherwise, faith can easily drift into fantasy, escapism or delusion.
Building your life in faith alone can lead to false expectations, which cause emotional inconsistency (extreme highs and lows). Great expectations lead to great disappointment if the cultivation of our internal resources are not the foundation of our expectant self.
My role as a counsellor is to evaluate what my client is basing their life on. Are they grounded in reality and do they gravitate toward truth? Or do they spend time excessively locked in their imagination at the whims of their feelings?
When we build our lives on facts, the truth of who we are (or are not) is clear. Therefore, we are less prone to cognitive biases and distortions.
A person living their life based solely on a foundation of feelings is emotionally unbalanced. As a result, their life will be unbalanced.
I need to ascertain relatively quickly what my client is predominantly basing their decision making on; feelings or facts. My role is to help them become more grounded in facts and reality as it is, not as they think it should be.
Responsibility Breeds Empowerment
The options we identify as possible influence the choices available to us. And every choice we choose to make has an emotional consequence.
A fear-based emotion like anxiety is fundamentally a false expectation about the future. The opposite of fear/anxiety is faith – a positive expectation about the future.
The empowering reality of our world is that we’re only ever one decision away from radically transforming our lives. We’re only ever one conversation away from changing our own life or the life of somebody else.
Faith is not blind hope which can be idle and delusional in its nature. Faith requires action – bold and meaningful steps that form the foundation of a positive future.
I am leading by example. I’ve already been down the rabbit hole and put my ideas into practice.
I have faith.