Are you on the Friends and Family Plan? Not the one that gives free minutes on your phone; the plan where you try to manage, fix and control the lives of your family, friends, spouse and co-workers. After all, their problems are infinitely more interesting than yours. And they are so easy to fix, if they would only listen!
Helping others is so attractive because it takes attention away from our own challenges. When we focus on solving someone else’s problems, we take time and energy away from our own goals, dreams and desires. It’s easy to become resentful.
It is one of the strategies we use to avoid and procrastinate. It usually happens when we experience doubt about what we are doing. Doubt stirs feelings of fear. Even if we have ample experience and expertise, the fear of failure can keep us stuck. So we avoid by helping others. Or we procrastinate by finding meaningless tasks to accomplish.
Taking one small step toward a goal can begin to eliminate the feelings of doubt and fear. Every accomplishment, no matter how small, gives us encouragement to keep moving forward. Every step we take is helping us to build faith. Charles Fillmore defines faith as “the perceiving power of the mind linked with the power to shape substance.”
Faith is an individual process of growth, patience and willingness. It is up to us to let go of doubt and decide how we would like to express love in the world. Ultimately, love is our highest vision and faith is our guide.
Faith is the freedom in knowing that whatever I need will be provided; whether it is strength to face the day, courage to speak my truth, or help for a loved one. Faith is appreciating every day as a treasure and every experience as a gift.