Faith? Or what you choose to believe?
Lamp at Home 04-07-2022 11:43pm
To have faith, is to believe that everything will workout perfectly — everything is serendipitous.
Skeptics tend to say, “but how do you know? You can’t foresee the future.” They are exactly right. We can’t predict the future, as by definition, the future is at a point in time that is out of the present moment, and any moment that is not in the present moment is just a perception, an illusion, and a fantasy...
If that is the case, when encountering events that are out of your control, why choose to direct your precious attention towards the not-so-ideal potential outcomes, when all of the ultimate happy endings are out there for you to fantasize? That is not to say one should abandon all risk-calculating behaviors and ignore all potential negative outcomes. On the contrary, one should carefully examine the situation, recognize the worst potential outcome, stare it right in the face, and most importantly, make peace with it.
YOU are in control!
After you have recognized the worst potential outcome, sit with it for a little while, and then just accept it. Because what else can you do, except to accept it? Resisting something that is already possible, and is already existing in the realm of potential future outcomes, will ultimately fill the present moment with worry and stress — as it is natural for one to worry and stress about something that they know they cannot accept. So just accept it, and choose to believe in the better outcomes. Once you accept it, it will no longer have any power over you, and now you are in control of what you foresee in your own future.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
Having faith in dark times ultimately translates into having faith in yourself, and into believing that no matter what situation you encounter, you will be able to conquer it and rise above, just like the million times you have done before.
Make peace with the most unideal outcome by working up your courage and confidence — you have overcome life obstacles so many times, you deserve to have that confidence. Then, make a deal with yourself that you are going to give it 100% of your ability, effort, and time to ensure the most ideal outcome. Provided that you don’t burn yourself out, of course; because the process matters too!
Then, you will find yourself not only in a much more tranquil state, but also having the motivation and courage to take actions that take you closer to the most ideal outcome. As you have already made peace with the worst that could happen, you are no longer worrisome, and your decisions are no longer being made based on fear. Once you have accepted and made peace with the worst outcome, you can now direct all of your energy towards not only believing in the best outcome, but also working towards it, without having to worry about things not playing out as you wished.
Fake it until you make it.
Cultivating faith in yourself is not as abstract as it seems. You can do so by simply reaffirming to yourself, whenever you start to feel anxious about the future, that
“everything will workout perfectly,
everything is serendipitous,
as long as I have the ability to learn, I have everything I need to conquer and rise above,
everything I need lies within me.”
By actively choosing to believe in the better rather than worrying about the less-ideals, you are training your brain to look on the brighter, more hopeful side. Thanks to our brain mechanics, the more we practice a certain way of thinking, the more habitual it becomes, as neurons that fire together, wire together. The more you are able to pull your energy towards the positives, the more positive you will become, as our brains would naturally look for external cues to reaffirm our subconscious beliefs.
YOU are the ultimate creative force!
We are living and breathing human beings. We make sushi and build rocket ships. We are imaginative beings who are capable to create magic out of nothing — we are even capable to create life!
That being said, you should be confident that you are fully capable of overcoming obstacles in life. Because you, and every single human being, are capable of amalgamating knowledge, information, and everything within the self to create and innovate. Cultivate that faith in you, give yourself that courage to take that leap of faith, and bring out that inner strength to persevere through challenges — no matter what kind of set backs you encounter, as long as you don’t choose to give up, it will never be a failure but rather a valuable lesson for you to learn, grow, and become a stronger self.
