Table of Contents
Life can feel cruisy while you’re in a routine. You work the same job, see the same people, and do the same things. There’s no doubt that routine is comfortable. We feel secure because we know how everything works.
Sooner or later, you may feel a sense of unease creeping up. A voice telling you that spending your years caught in routine at the expense of adventure is wasting away your life. Unless you take action to change your life, this is as good as it gets. This voice may begin as a whisper, but over time it slowly gets louder, deafening, and inescapable.
When you hear this voice, you may deny it at first. You will tell yourself that it’s irrational, that now is not the time. However, sooner or later you will realize that this voice won’t go away. It won’t allow you to evade it, because it’s a part of you. Once you hear this voice, it plants a seed that roots so deeply into your mind, that you have no option but to heed it.
This voice is telling you to do something out of the ordinary. It’s a deeper intuition shining through, illuminating your discontent with your current life situation. This voice may be telling you to quit your job and follow your dreams. It may be telling you to pursue the love of your life or to leave it all behind to start fresh in a distant culture.
But any big life change requires a leap of faith. Big life changes aren’t just handed to us. We need to step out of our comfort zones and embrace the possibility of things going wrong. We may feel exposed, vulnerable, and lack direction. This is why people seldom take a leap of faith because it’s daunting.
Out of fear of things going wrong, many people suppress this voice telling them to take a leap of faith and trust that it will work out. But this is no way to live; growing old without truly living. Living in the familiar is safe, but it gets us nowhere. In my eyes, experiencing challenges, confronting fears, and getting yourself into stressful situations is a fair price to pay to not look back on your life regretting how you wasted it away, and never truly lived.ย
The worst thing you can do is let your life pass you by without pursuing the opportunities that come to you. This is why we’re going to look at how you can take a leap of faith and step out of the familiar trust, to live the life you deserve.
Why take a leap of faith?
When I was younger, I couldn’t handle the challenges life was throwing at me. I was unfulfilled because I wasn’t even close to the life I wanted to live, yet I was too afraid to pursue my dreams because, at the time, I thought I wasn’t capable of achieving the things I wanted.
Long story short, I went through an awakening process and saw life with brand-new eyes. Now I had a decision to make; I could continue living the same stagnant life which was familiar but painful, or take a leap of faith and step into the unknown.
It was daunting, but I knew that if I wanted to create a major change in my life, I had to take a leap of faith. So I moved to Brazil and spent a year backpacking South America. During this trip, I fulfilled so many needs that were previously unmet such as living an adventurous life, making great friends, and finally having a good dating life.
I could have stayed in Australia which provided stability and security, but spending my life in the same set and setting was scarier than facing the fear and taking a leap of faith.
Instead of following the beaten track, I followed my heart. I moved to Vietnam to teach English and pursued a nomadic lifestyle. It has now been 8 years traveling the world, working various jobs, and constantly embarking on new adventures.
If I never made the leap, my life would have taken a very different direction. That’s the thing… It’s easy to get complacent. It’s easy to stay in the same situations which may be comfortable, yet unfulfilling.
Take a leap of faith meaning
Taking a leap of faith implies stepping into the unknown, often to pursue a new opportunity. It’s called a leap of faith because the outcome is uncertain and a risk is involved, but you have faith that this new life venture will work out, which is why you embark on it.
It’s important to take a leap of faith sometimes because life tends to stay the same if you don’t. I always suggest taking a leap of faith if a potentially great opportunity arises, but there are a few things I want to talk about here.
You need to follow your heart.
Don’t leap unless it’s in the right direction. If you’re pursuing an opportunity that may not be in your highest interest, you may stumble and regret it. Big decisions in your life should be met with your heart. It should be something you truly want to do because if your heart isn’t in it, it’s less likely to work out for you.
Be calculated.
Although you want to follow your heart, don’t leap into blind faith. You need to be somewhat calculated about what you’re doing, and strategically think about how you can make the situation work out. Although you may have no control over the outcome, you need to be relatively grounded with your decision, considering you may not be able to take it back.
Realize there is a risk.
Taking a leap of faith implies there is a risk involved. As with any venture into the unknown, there is a risk. You might regret the decision. Maybe the opportunity will fall apart mid-leap. Needless to say, risks are involved when you take a leap of faith, but who ever said a little risk is a bad thing?
Staying in the same situation also poses a risk. You risk missing out on amazing new opportunities that could improve your life. You risk rejecting situations that could help you.
Therefore, risk shouldn’t be perceived as a deterrent, but it should be acknowledged. If you’re taking a leap of faith, you will have some control over the situation, but a lot of it will be out of your control too.
Changing up your life is a good thing. Even if your life is pretty cushy right now, life change is a gateway to growth, personal transformation, and exciting new adventures. Don’t be afraid to change things up because life passes quickly, and you don’t want to be the person sitting on their deathbed wishing they did things a little differently.
With that said, if you still feel inclined to move forward, let’s explore how you can do it most gracefully.
How to take a leap of faith
Now let’s explore how to take a leap of faith if you’re feeling daunted by the decision.
If you’re in a situation where you’re torn between worlds and not sure which path to take, take some time for yourself before making a decision. I suggest meditating, reflecting, and listening to your inner voice.
When I’m faced with a big decision, I have discovered a handy technique to help clarify which path is in my highest interest.
I think about what my higher self would do. This is the best version of myself who is walking my highest timeline. I visualize this version of myself and imagine what he would do if he was in my situation.
Therefore, think about what your higher self would do in your situation. To do this, imagine the best version of yourself who you strive to become. What does he/she look like? What experiences have they had? What characteristics and qualities do they have?
Now imagine that your idealized version of yourself is in your position right now. What would they do? Visualize it, feel it, and model after it. By putting yourself into the highest timeline, you’re more likely to make the right decisions.
Clarify why you're doing it
I want to ask you, what is your motive behind taking the leap of faith? More importantly, what place does it come from?
Are you making the decision from a place of anger or resentment? Perhaps out of a place of frustration, shame, or guilt? Are you thinking about making this decision to impress your peers or because you fear the consequences of not doing it?
If you said yes to any of the above, I urge you to consider this decision wisely.
Decisions made from a place of pain generally aren’t good decisions. They’re not coming from your heart and could be an act of self-sabotage which you want to be wary of. It’s more likely to be an impulsive decision if it comes from a place of pain, rather than a well-thought-out decision that serves your highest interest.
If your reason for taking this leap of faith comes from a good place, then this is a much better reason to act on it. Maybe you want to take a leap of faith because the opportunity excites you, even though it’s scary. Perhaps you have the itch for some adventure of change in your life and want to see where new roads may take you. Maybe you resonate with the new opportunity, and you believe it could lead to a better life.
Taking a leap of faith from a good place makes a world of difference. Therefore, think about what your incentive is, and if you’re moving towards something, or running away. Think about what feelings are conjured when you think about this decision. Does it inspire you, or deflate you?
Listen to your gut instinct
I want to stress the importance of listening to your intuition. Your intuition is like a compass. Many times I have relied on my intuition to find the best route to take. Sometimes opportunities have presented themselves that just felt wrong, and I made sure to steer clear of them.
So make sure you’re always listening to that inner voice rather than the louder, logical mind – even if they’re pointing in different directions. When you’re on the right track, you will discover a deeper fulfillment in your life and intuitively know you made a good decision.
Acknowledge the fear
Let’s face it. Taking a leap of faith is scary. You will be stepping out of your comfort zoneย and may have mixed emotions due to that.
Often, people back out of good opportunities because they’re afraid of what may go wrong. It’s uncertain, which is why it’s a leap of faith. If you knew the outcome, it wouldn’t be much of a leap, but rather a step toward certainty.
Therefore, it’s important to determine whether fear is holding you back, or whether the decision is not in your best interest.
If you feel the decision isn’t good for you because it’s not in alignment with what you want to do, then don’t do it. However, if your hesitation comes from fear, and you intuitively do want to do it, then you should.
By determining whether the barrier is fear, you can more accurately gauge whether taking the leap of faith is a good thing for you.
Commit to the decision
Once you know that the decision feels right to make, you need to commit to it. It’s too easy to back out and stay in the familiar, which is why you need to reach a point where you whole-heartedly make the decision and follow through with it.
From this point, you need to commit before hesitation creeps back in. It’s natural to feel a little out of place after you take a leap of faith. You might wonder if you made the right decision, and feel uneasy. This is a natural stage of acclimatizing to your new life situation, and understand that it will take some time to get into your groove.
But don’t worry, this is normal. Your commitment will keep you on track, knowing there is no going back now. Keep pushing forward and finding familiarity in your new life.
Have faith that everything will work out
In my eyes, faith is priceless, especially when you’re stepping into the unknown. We tend to resist what’s happening when things get difficult, but resistance only creates more suffering.
Therefore, don’t resist your feelings. Don’t resist where the universe is taking you, believing that everything will work out in the end. Sure, it may be a bumpy road but have faith that it’s for the best and that sooner or later, your life situation will look bright.
At the end of the day, everything is an experience, regardless of what label you give the experience. If you experience life with a growth mindset, there are no bad decisions, only different decisions.
With this mentality, you can’t lose, even if everything goes wrong. At the end of the day, your story is still being written, and you will get back on your feet. I’m not saying that you should anticipate things going wrong, but if you’re challenged, look at the opportunity within it.
Final thoughts
It’s important to be calculated and to give some serious thought to any big decision you make in your life. But keep in mind, that sometimes it’s best to move forward in life, even if it’s daunting.
Taking the leap of faith into the unknown can transform your life in ways you are unable to yet anticipate, and redirect the trajectory of your life. I often hear people regret not taking a leap of faith and jumping on an opportunity that they were afraid to pursue, and I seldom hear people regret taking the leap into the unknown.
The fear barrier is the hardest part to overcome, and usually, this is what causes people to stay in the same situation they have always known because they don’t decide to change their lives. Therefore, if you have thought about what we’ve discussed in this article, and you still want to take the leap, I suggest throttling forward and not looking back.