Have you ever wondered what the difference is between fear and faith? On Monday, April 24th, I was with Matthew McConaughey for about 6.5 hours. Yes, THE Matthew McConaughey, alright…alright…alright! I attended his Art of Living event. He talked about the difference between fear and faith, and the conversation resonated. It resonated because fear ruled my life for about 32 years, and I was cluelessly unaware of it. I didn’t realize I lived in fear because I was raised to live in fear. Fear was my norm. Had I only realized the following things, I would have saved myself much unnecessary worrying, and worrying is the same as praying for what you don’t want.

Fear is fake. Faith is real. Fear is an undirected imagination. Faith is intentional. The way to overcome fear and live with faith is to feel what you want instead of what you face. I learned this from Matthew on Monday, and I can assure you that he was not dazed and confused. But you might still think this is hogwash. This morning, one of my TikTok followers asked, “How can I not be fearful of something real?” That’s a legitimate question, but most of the things we think are real aren’t. Furthermore, fear comes into play (usually) when we anticipate something happening that we don’t want that hasn’t even happened. That’s not real.

To gain some clarity about where you stand with fear, ask yourself these questions.

Has fear ever served me well?

What happens when I expect defeat?

Do I anticipate worst-case scenarios?

Did someone teach me to be fearful?

The last question is significant because your fear was born at some point. Where I come from, fear is a family tradition. It shapes behaviors, personalities, and ultimately career paths, social status, health and well-being, and relationships. Fear is instilled in childhood; if it isn’t interrupted, it eventually takes over and spreads like poison oak. Faith works the same way but to a person’s benefit. For whatever reason, fear is easier to believe for many people than faith. This is an illusion and a product of socialization.

Fear takes you down. Faith takes you up. Fear lies to you. Faith tells you the truth. So, why is the fearful option so much easier to accept? In my case, I was raised to expect defeat, so fearful options were my norm and what I thought was true. Succeeding was never an option, and that mindset was what I was used to for over three decades. Looking back, I succeeded at many things, so my fearful mindset wasn’t real. I decided to choose faith over fear, and I’ve never looked back.

I want to share the strategies I used to conquer fear in hopes that I can help anyone who is debilitated by a fearful mindset. You can practice these techniques right away without spending one penny.

· Do something each day to go inward.

*I highly recommend meditation.

· Change your inner dialogue.

*Stop criticizing yourself.

*Start asking yourself these questions: Who am I? What do I want? What is my purpose? What am I grateful for?

· Get the fuck out of your comfort zone NOW.

· Become more self-involved.

· Do not seek advice from other people.

*Bad advice always results in fear.

· Give more than you receive.

· Only control what is in your control.

*Stop watching things on television that cause you to worry. What you see on the news is out of your control, so it doesn’t deserve your attention.

· Practice mindful awareness.

· Be more present.

*Stop living in the past.

*Stop worrying about the future.

· Focus more on what you have instead of what you don’t have.

I will never understand why these lessons aren’t taught as early on as the first grade. When we are born, we are perfect, but then fear creeps in and steals our true essence. Fear is what makes life miserable, and it’s not even real.

Things that make you go hmmm….

I’m grateful for Matthew McConaughey because he approached the topic of fear with unwavering confidence. Fear is easy to avoid in conversations because people don’t want to admit how fearful they are. We need to talk about it more.

Thank you for giving me your most precious asset, your time. Please visit www.paulaswope.com. If you like my style, sign up for my monthly newsletter while you’re surfing around.