Got faith?  Faith is the third of three critical ingredients necessary to overcome fear of making change in our careers and lives.  So what is faith?  I’m convinced of two things as it relates to faith:

  1. Each of us has our own personal definition of “faith”
  2. Either you got it or you don’t

Given these two important traits of faith, this is gonna be a short post – but an important one nonetheless.   I’m also going to take a different approach to this topic than I traditionally do.  Rather than break-down faith, analyze it and give you a prescription, I’m going to ask you three questions that people who battle fear with faith typically answer “yes” to:

Question #1 – Do you see yourself as meant for something bigger?  Are you meant to play a bigger game than the one you are currently playing?  This faith question relates to purpose, but unlike purpose, faith isn’t about setting a vision, it’s about taking that first step “knowing” that you are on a path that you are meant to be on.  Perhaps you call it intuition, gut instinct or destiny.  Regardless of what you call it, people who take leaps of faith in the face of fear are driven by this call to something bigger.

Question #2 – Do you believe that things will work out in the end?  Faith is about believing that things have a way of working out the way they are “meant to” in the end.  This not only means that you won’t die if you take that leap of faith you’ve been putting off, but that the outcome of that step will be a positive one for you eventually – maybe not initially, but eventually.  Have you ever noticed that the people we admire the most for their courage to take those steps into the unknown, more often than not operate “knowing” it will all work out?  I have.

Question #3 – Do you believe in something bigger than you?  People who take action driven by faith have a deep conviction that there is something bigger than them at play.  Is that true for you?  In my work, I can say that the individuals who believe in something bigger than them often take steps into the unknown with a confidence and peace that is unmatched.  They know that they are not alone.  How ’bout for you?  Are you alone?

Faith is essential to facing our deepest fears.  The individuals I have worked with over the years who have “faith” might still be afraid, but their faith helped them to confront their fears and take action.  On the flip side, those individuals I’ve coached that didn’t have faith were less likely to move from their “stuck” place.  They would analyze the situation, look at it from every angle, exhaust all logic and stop at the point where the “unknown” would begin and logic would end.  And there they would sit – on the edge, unable to make that first step waiting for a clarity that will never come.

After all, when we come right down to it, that first step into the unknown truly is all about faith and nothing more.

I think this clip sums up that first step perfectly, and who better than Indiana Jones.  Indy rocks!