When Should You Take a Leap of Faith
Maybe these thoughts will give you the push you need.
Photo by Cedric Stout
Let me define faith for you.
Faith:
Complete confidence in [n]
Assurance that [n] will [n]
Trust in [n]
I will argue that faith must have a foundation. ‘Blind faith’ is, in my opinion, a notion only either the completely stupid or completely helpless resort to. Even in the case of blind faith, don’t we go through it with the hope of something better? Perhaps you are blindly reaching your hand out for the handle that will open the door to lead you out of the darkness you are locked in, but the very act of doing that must first be stimulated by a hope, thought, even slight belief that the door exists.
Again, whatever that ‘something better’ is changes depending on who this person with faith is. To give a solid example, say a mafia boss says to his hitman, “I have faith that you will finish the job.” You, me and my dog know that by ‘job’ he’s not talking about picking up grandma from the airport. But for that mafia boss, getting the job done will be 'better’ for him. So in this case of better we are arguing not a good thing by religious or moral standards, but just what the individual is hoping for.
But putting that aside. In the very essence of the word FAITH or HOPE we sense the goodness of it.
And this ‘goodness’ I definitely do mean by the moral standards. (Every single discussion to be had must be settled on a foundation of absolute truth or morality, unfortunately for the relative morality theorist. However, this is not the article that will talk about that. For the sake of understanding this article’s point, let’s take the stance that absolute truth and morality exists for now.) There is an understanding that faith must include something trustworthy.
Why would I put my faith in something that is not trustworthy?
Why on earth would I put my life, safety, happiness, all the things I consider to be of utmost value, in a precarious position because of something that will fail me? This is why I stick by the first statement that ‘blind faith’ is for the completely stupid or completely helpless. If I have even a single wit, I would know by my innate humanness that I desire the good things for myself. Tell me, have you ever desired harm for yourself for harm’s sake and then taken action to make that harm become your reality?
So I put my faith in what will bring me those good things.
Now we come to the phrase, ‘leap of faith.’ It’s commonly used to encourage someone to try something risky, or to express taking an action when you didn’t know what the outcome will be.
Bob: “I want to quit my job. But I am afraid of being unemployed. What if I don’t find another job after?”
Frank: “Oh, I was in that situation a year ago. But I took a leap of faith and now I’m the highest paid actor in the world!”
That is just an example of the phrase. Not advice from the author.
So going off the definition of faith from above, we assume that a leap of faith is also founded in something more real than mere wishes. Taking the case of the mafia boss and hitman scenario. The mafia boss knows the hitman is tough and ruthless. He knows the hitman needs the money. He knows the hitman is good with a weapon. Therefore, he can trust that the hitman will accomplish his job. The mafia boss does not hire my neighbor’s gardener because he cannot trust he has any skills necessary for the job the mafia boss wants accomplished, (unless the job means pruning gardenias). Why? Because that faith must be founded on something real.
So I argue that we often have the misconception that a leap of faith is bounding directly into a situation with our hands happily covering our eyes, fingers crossed for a soft landing. Instead, I contend that a leap of faith is taking a bold movement, indeed, yes, into an unknown future, but with the faith in something real that the outcome will be better for me.
When should you take a leap of faith? There are the circumstances that I think are good motivating factors:
Your life is stuck in one place. Similar to banging on the end of a ketchup bottle to get that last bit out onto your fries, maybe you need to knock your life into motion.
You face uncertainties no matter what choice you make.
You are thoroughly unhappy.
You are more afraid of being stuck where you are than facing the unknown ahead.
Have you ever seen an animal trapped? I saw a video showing sea lions trapped in nets, struggling to escape. The worse is when they acknowledge they will be entangled in that mess until they die. They lay still and close their eyes. Though I have never physically been trapped in a net, I know the feeling to being trapped to the point of emotional suffocation. As I sat in my office chair, chained mentally to my desk, I thought to myself, ‘were we ever meant to be anything but free?’ I think every human can sense that - the desire and craving for honest freedom. Recognize when your life has stopped moving and look hard at what is real: the human need for freedom. The trust in yourself as a fighter. The knowledge that you are meant for greater things. Then for goodness’ sake, continue to swim forward. It will be hard as hell but better to reach your happy goal battered and free than remain whole and chained.
I have looked to the left and right and seen only endless tunnels of grey mist. I cannot see where either leads and I know I cannot stay where I am. Then choose a direction and move forward. Go with what you have. Sometimes the only thing you can trust is your logic, confidence, and purpose.
The devil I don’t know can oftentimes seem more frightening than the devil I do know. In other words, I am miserable in my job. But isn’t it better than being jobless, thus moneyless, thus homeless, thus dead with no success? The common fallacy of the slippery slope is at play here. When taking that leap of faith by quitting your job, don’t you have trust in your work abilities? In your network to offer you a position somewhere? In the hope that your future is going to be brighter if you work hard and use your experiences? So perhaps, yes, quitting the job means you do not know what your next job will be. But you surely have proven trust in the realities of your resume, community, talents, and determination.
I caution every person to be viciously self-aware and self-assessing before taking a leap of faith. Using the euphemistic “leap of faith” as an excuse to run away from something scary or difficult will never do you any favors.
When you decide to date someone, isn’t that a leap of faith, too? I don’t actually know how this person will treat me in a relationship, I cannot say for certain that they are a good match for me. But with enough looking around, I can find evidence that he will never hurt me physically because of how he treats his sister, I see by his history that he is intelligent and hard-working, his loyalty shines through his years of healthy friendships, and so I have faith in him as an individual that he will be good for me. So in my case, I took a leap of faith. The rest will play out.
When you actually take the jump, it most certainly can be scary. It’s also exhilarating and a challenge. And boy, do I love a good challenge. I have faith in my ability to tough out difficult times, I have faith in my family to catch me if I do fail hard, I have faith in my friends to cheer me on, I have faith that I will always continue to learn and improve, and I have faith that my reason for existence is for something good.