Faith the Antidote to Fear – listen to this Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
Fear is the friction that we battle through in all we do, it’s a natural and default position of a species who have had to fight off sabre tooth tigers to survive. The problem we now have is fear will paralyse us if we don’t find something to have faith in.
I used to climb, a lot, in fact, I did it as part of my high school qualifications. I did rock climbing every Wednesday all day for the last 2 years of my high school tenure [age 14-16]. Climbing is a sport where the relationship between faith and fear is clearly evident. My climbing ability is limited by my mental ability to push through fear, the core friction with a climber’s ability is not their strength but their mindset.
As a young teenager, I was a pretty extreme individual, I would allow myself to be absorbed by an activity and climbing was one of the activities that allowed me to absorb myself. Like all of us I was scared of heights when I first start climbing, it would be easy to allow this fear to halt my climbing, but it wasn’t that I was scared of heights it was that I was unfamiliar with heights and needs to spend time at height to allow myself to develop FAITH in my abilities, the abilities of my climbing partner and also my gear.
I progressed to climbing more complex grades, outside, higher cliffs, peaking at 10-pitch E2 climbs for those who know what that means. For those who don’t know what that means its means you are hundreds of feet high and have to climb at a pretty technical level. In every climb, there is a crux move, the move that results in the most exposure and requires the most technical ability. This crux is the point of fear, it’s also the point of courage and the exact point you need faith in your ability.
We need faith if we are to overcome fear, Faith is a process because we first need the courage to step into that space where we can practise faith.
Faith is, to quote the biblical book of Hebrews, “Now Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen.” So if placing my faith in something is the antidote to fear, in that it neutralises my fear to the point that I no longer need the courage to move forward, what is fear?
Fear is doubt in a positive outcome, if I do this it will end badly and risk my survival, or in a more contemporary world, risk my reputation, and damage my ego.
Fear has a place, don’t go picking up snakes, be scared of snakes and treat them with respect. But there will be people in this world who aren’t scared to pick up snakes, because they have been through this process to overcome their fear:
Courage → Practising Faith → Faith → Unconscious faith
- Courage to try, to move into a space where skills and experience allow me to develop and practice Faith.
- The first time someone picks up a snake and is taught the proper way to pick up a snake.
- Continued practice of Faith and Courage in the face of fear.
- Practice and repetition of picking up a snake in the correct manner, experience is developed.
- The activity became familiar and as a result, faith being the default and courage no longer being required
- Having become experienced and familiar with snakes, the person now has no fear, faith is a default and unconscious activity
- Identifying the next level, where Courage is required and further faith can be developed.
- We may be content with just picking up a specific type of snake, are we content with that? Maybe, maybe not… the next level is where you need to develop courage again.
Alex Hanold climbed El Capitan 884m, without ropes, a climbing partner, just him and his ability. Was he scared Yes, did he move forward still Yes, why did he move forward with a mix of courage and FAITH in his abilities?
We need courage, but courage consumes a lot of emotional energy and focus. Faith helps us move to a space where courage is required less, ideally to a space where Faith is unconscious and I don’t fear Im enjoying my activity despite the extreme nature of it.
So what?
Well in our daily lives, fear is ever present, it is subtle and more often than not shows itself as anxiety. To navigate and overcome fear so we can be more effective and joyful it helps to analyse the situation and feelings by asking this question, where do I lack faith? Or in what sense do I lack faith? The answer to that question will start to identify the area where you need to focus your courage and faith efforts. An example:
I’m anxious about a big presentation at work, where do I lack faith? I’m unsure of my ability to speak in public or my knowledge on this subject matter, [do some analysis] So what? How can I practise my speaking in public or as a minimum rehearse and practise my talk to the point that I’m confident in my delivery?
Rather than stewing on anxiety or fear, challenge yourself to move forward by looking for the element you need to develop your faith in.
Faith takes courage but is something that needs to be practised.
Go challenge your fear, take courage and pursue faith.
Ask this question?
Where in my daily life is a lack of faith limiting me?
In the comments please let me know your thoughts on the Faith loop, does it work for you? Do you have any examples of it playing out in your life?
