Fear or Trust

Today I turn to an email that I received entitled, “Fear or Trust.” The author is unknown. After reading the email I couldn’t help but to blog about it. I re-wrote it to add in my theory of Chicken Little and added my own flair. However, I want to give credit where credit is due and disclose that this is not all my own writing. If I knew the author I would love to say, “Man, you are right on with your thinking.” Here we go …

Fear or Trust

Let’s get Chicken Little.

You all know the story … young chicken, fearful of the worst, runs around declaring, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” I think we have too many Chicken Littles running around. No wonder the economy is still facing challenges! The 24/7 media is creating a frenzy of panic and fear that fills the collective psychology of the country with gloom and doom. Some people are more stressed and fearful than they have ever been in their life.

We need to realize that the economy is not some abstract entity separate from us. The economy is us. YOU and I are the economy. Our thoughts, behaviors, actions and mood collectively create the economy. Government can try to manipulate our actions through tax plans, regulations, incentives, etc. but in a nutshell WE are the economy. Our collective mood, productivity, innovation, positive energy and execution determines whether the economy is thriving or in a recession. Paying our mortgage helps the economy. Working hard helps the economy. Starting a business helps the economy. Replacing our psychology of fear with a psychology of trust helps the economy.

But how can I trust anything (you might ask) when everything I’ve trusted in is falling apart? My answer is this: We’ve put our trust and faith in the wrong things. Our government, media, financial institutions and our own actions have shown us that a house built on the wrong foundation cannot stand. The cracks have been exposed. The wake up call is for all of us. Charles West put it this way: “We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking them.” Our foundations are shaking for a reason. We are meant to realize that security is an illusion. There’s no power in having a big bank account. You can’t find peace in your investment portfolio and you’ll never find your true purpose in your 401k plan.

We are meant to stop listening to the media, aka, Chicken Little and have faith in something bigger than ourselves. We are meant to trust in God, not in our balance sheets. We are meant to realize that true power exists not in what seems big and strong and secure but in what is silent and unseen. This is where faith lives.

So instead of starting your morning by turning on the negative news, consider taking a walk of prayer and create your own positive stories. Instead of looking down at the paper, look up to the heavens. And instead of listening to the fear mongers, walk outside, close your eyes, smell the air, take a few deep breaths and discover the real peace you seek.

Every day stay positive, do your best to succeed and have faith in a brighter and better future. I believe this is the antidote to fear and it is the true kind of trust that you, I and the economy need right now.