Love versus Fear

I was intrigued by the title of this week’s piece from Lou Tice at the Winners Circle. In this one, Lou talks about the choices we make between acting out of fear or love, and comes up with some surprising answers.

Love versus Fear

If you had a choice between love and fear, which would you choose? If you think the answer is obvious, what I have to say may surprise you.

If you were offered a choice between feeling and acting out of fear or out of love, which one would you pick? No question about it, most people don’t even hesitate before they say, “Love!” But this is not a hypothetical question. It is a choice you and I are faced with every day of our lives. And all too often, whether consciously or not, we choose fear.

When you avoid success, harm your physical health, or hold back your attractiveness, you are choosing fear. When you fail to set goals, or give up your power to a boss, mate, friend or authority figure, fear is motivating you.

When you deny the truth, feel afraid to say ‘no,’ ignore your feelings or focus on negative feedback, you do it out of fear. In fact, all negative emotions can be traced to some form of fear. And the truth is that you can’t feel both love and fear at the same time. So when you act out of fear, you are choosing to shut out love.

Becoming aware of this process is the first step toward change. It takes work, persistence, and a willingness to risk, but it can be done, and I guarantee you, it’s worth it! Get help if necessary, but don’t wait even one more day to begin. Choose love, and choose it with your whole heart!

Lou Tice
The Pacific Institute

If Lou is right in this, and I’ve certainly no reason to think he isn’t, I can see that I frequently feel and act out of fear, at least in my personal life. And that surprises me a little. I can see that there are times in my life when I feel and act out of love too, but not as many as I would hope for. Consciously, I do choose love; subconsciously, I probably choose fear more than love. So, it seems, that I need to make an attempt to swing the balance of my life more towards love, and away from fear.

Another great post from Lou Tice at the Winners Circle. His posts are always a great help, and encourage me to think differently about things: If you think you might be helped by reading many more of them, do please consider subscribing for the daily emails yourself.