A Spirit of Fear
Here in Texas, the big political battle of the day is the Republican Gubernatorial Republican Primary between U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and incumbent Governor Rick Perry. The ads used by both parties insult my intelligence. Just so you know where I’m coming from, here’s one from the Senator:
F.E.A.R.
Whether it’s a political attack ad that lacks substance, or the 24-hour news network constantly trying to hook you into a story, this trend of negativity isn’t going anywhere soon. Why? Because fear sells. Fear gets ratings.
Motivational speaker Tony Robbins often said that FEAR is an acronym for “False Evidence Appearing Real.” Once consumed by F.E.A.R., it leads you to make irrational choices, including in your financial life. Here’s an examples of F.E.A.R.
Instance of F.E.A.R. — “I’m driving a 3 year-0ld minivan and have two kids. I need a new van — I mean, I just couldn’t imagine being stuck on the side of the road with a broken down old car! Besides, this new minivan has more safety features. You don’t want our children to be in danger, do you?”
Reality – You rarely drive outside the city limits in the kid-toter. Your minivan has plenty of room and is reasonably reliable. Breaking down and needing a tow truck is not the end of the world, nor is it scary, especially with cell phones available to call for help. There is no way the new minivan is THAT much safer to justify the extra cost. Getting a brand new minivan with brand new payments upwards of $500-$600/month, just to avoid an off-chance instance of breaking down? Illogical. Don’t let F.E.A.R. dupe you into a financial hole that will take 36-72 months to pay off.
Beating F.E.A.R. Into Submission
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. ~ 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
F.E.A.R. so easily creeps into our consciousness. How to we counter it? Well God and the Apostle Paul are pretty good authorities, and they say the opposite of fear is power, love, and self-discipline. Work on identifying when someone is playing on your fears. Identification of F.E.A.R. is empowering. It allows you to compare it to your judgment and self-discipline to see how this F.E.A.R. should apply to your financial life. When you have a financial plan (self-discipline), you will be empowered to make the right decisions by those habits, rather than reacting to F.E.A.R.
Application
Can you identify any instances of F.E.A.R. in your life? What self-disciplines have you used to overcome these F.E.A.R.s?? Meantime, early voting ends today — I’m off to go vote.
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