Why Scarcity Can’t Run Your Life (But Faith Can)

When scarcity hits, the natural human response is to tighten the grip. We see it in high-pressure environments every day: the panic to produce, the fear of “what if,” and the urge to shrink back into a safe, linear path. Most people’s faith begins to crumble when the data looks lean. They stop growing because they are too busy surviving.

But I’ve realized that’s exactly when you have to dig deeper.

I recently went back to Jim Carrey’s 2014 commencement speech, and his words on the “Ghosts of Fear” hit me differently this time:

“Fear is going to be a player in your life, but you get to decide how much. You can spend your whole life imagining ghosts, worrying about your pathway to the future, but all there will ever be is what’s happening here… You will only ever have 2 choices in life: Love or fear. Choose love and don’t ever let fear turn you against your playful heart.”

As a “Specialist” by nature, I’ve always tried to analyze my way through the door. I used to think my job was to calculate every step of the “how.” But the more I lean into my own journey, the more I realize that the “how” isn’t my department.

My job is to put in the practical work, hit my goals, and keep the door in my head open. Once the work is done, I have to make the conscious decision to control the worry and just have faith.

Is it hard? Absolutely. There are moments when the “Ghosts of Fear” feel very real. That’s okay, I’m human. But in those moments, I take a deep breath and remind myself: Nothing in life is that serious. Just breathe and keep moving.

When you operate from a place of fear, you accidentally lock the door. You become so focused on scarcity that you miss the opportunity for expansion. But when you choose the “playful heart” approaching your work with curiosity instead of desperation, the door in real life eventually swings wide.

And when it does? You don’t have to overthink it. You just walk through it.