OVERCOMING THE FEAR FACTOR
Jackelyn Viera Iloff, senior adviser to pastor Joel Osteen, tackles topic in new book
Coming out of college, Jackelyn Viera Iloff was hesitant to accept a new job working on a political campaign in Washington. She feared the unknown and especially the thought of starting a new life away from her family in California. The fear of failure was overwhelming: What if she wasn’t good enough? What if she didn’t like Washington? Luckily, her family encouraged her to go, so she accepted the job.
This decision would lead to incredible opportunities, allowing Iloff to serve in the Department of Transportation for President Ronald Reagan and in the re-election campaign of President George H.W. Bush. These opportunities made Iloff realize that her life would have been completely different if she had allowed fear to make her first career decision.
In her new book “What If You Could?,” Iloff provides biblical insights on how to approach fear. She teaches readers how fear and faith go hand-in-hand, offering personal anecdotes as well as practical advice to apply in daily life. Iloff is a senior adviser to Pastor Joel Osteen at Lakewood Church, a wife and mother to two daughters. She understands that fear is a daily walk — one that she overcomes every day.
“Once you understand what fear is, how it acts in your life, and that you can counter fear and do all that God has enabled you to, you are set free. That’s a beautiful place to be in your relationship with God because you allow Him to do great things in your life in partnership with Him,” Iloff said.
The Chronicle talked with Iloff recently
about her book. Here are excerpts from that interview.
Q: What compelled you to write “What If You Could?”
A: Originally, it was a lesson to the women’s ministry. I had such a great response from the ladies that I felt there was a real need for this topic to be addressed, so I expanded it and with the help of my publisher, I really took the opportunity to delve into the subject matter. As I did, it came really quickly. It took me 90 days to write it, so I felt like I was really being inspired by the Holy Spirit to address some issues that people have, and it’s been such a rewarding experience since it’s been published, and I’ve given it to family and friends and people have bought it.
Across the board, from political leaders to business friends and politicians to ordinary people who are dealing with everyday issues, everyone has come back and said, “Wow. This has really helped me. I’ve done your devotionals. I’ve done your affirmations and it’s really gotten me to look at what I’m capable of doing in a new and very powerful way.” That to me says that I did the right thing.
Q: In the book, you start every chapter with a Bible verse and consistently talk about your relationship with God. Why do you think faith is so important when dealing with fear?
A: Because fear is what paralyzes us from doing things. It’s those voices in your head, sometimes from family and friends who mean well, but they say “You shouldn’t go there. You shouldn’t do that. You’re not capable of that. You don’t have enough resources,” or whatever the negativity is. But instead, God wants us to say that we can and we will. All things are possible through Him who empowers us. He’s very clear about that in the Bible, so I wanted to ground that not just in my opinion, but in what God says about us in our power and authority and faith, what faith allows us to do.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God, and the first thing God said to them was “why are you hiding?” and they said to him “because we were afraid.” So fear is the first reaction to sin and faith is what Jesus Christ came to give us more abundantly, and so he said when you see me, you see the father and when you see the father, you see me. Likewise, you are made in our image so you have all the authority and capability that we have. It’s just that you’ve been blinded from it in the beginning because of fear, because of what might happen or could happen, what is hostile.
I think that’s a very powerful message that people want to hang on to. It’s funny — the examples of things people have done and said to me as a result of getting into the mindset of what if I could? What’s keeping you from doing this? Failure is not the ultimate response. Failure is just the learning mechanism along the way to success, and most of the most brilliant minds in the world understand that fully. You know everybody from Jobs to Einstein to Michelangelo to Da Vinci. They all understand that failure is part of the process. It’s not about failing and then stopping there. That truly is failure. Failure is about learning how to overcome. How to take in hand what you’ve learned and make a success out of it and not to repeat the failures. Q: You mention that moving to Washington after college to work on a political campaign was a big decision and you learned how to overcome your fear in that situation. Are there any recent situations where you’ve been able to apply what you talk about in the book?
A: Just because I understand fear doesn’t mean that fear doesn’t get into my thinking. But, it’s what you do about that thought process. It’s not like you get covered by this bubble — fear never gets in anymore. It’s a continuing walk in saying, you have to get into the Bible. Research what God says about your present situation and you have to have that resource of having the word in you, to be able to combat the fear that is in you.
I have two daughters, and one of them is away at college. The other is about to graduate — this is her junior year so she’ll be going off to college next year. I worry about them. I want the best life for them and I try not to be fearful about what I don’t know. I just try to pray over them and say “God, you have the best understanding of what’s good for them. Let them seek you first and I try to give the benefit of that counsel.”
Fear is a daily walk. You want the best for your children. You don’t want them to make mistakes. You want them to learn from your own mistakes so that they don’t have to stub their toes, but that’s not how it works. They have to learn from their own mistakes. There’s a whole process, and the best you can do is to be there for them when they do fall and just lift them back up again, and allow them to succeed at their own pace and in their own way.
Q: You encourage your readers to try out several practical things like talking about their faith. What are some other ways that people can actively change the way that they approach their own fears?
A: Well, I think a lot of exercises that I’ve given them in the book. You know, setting goals to try to address where you’re trying to be, and then naturally, see the next steps you need to take so that you can make good decisions towards those steps that further your goals. I also give affirmations that change the way you think so you’re saying good things about yourself. So that you’re saying good things about you that God said in the Bible. Once you have a habit, you have to change it by substituting a different habit. So if you’re in a habit of saying “I can’t. I won’t. I’m not able,” you have to change that habit with words that say “I can. I will. I am able.” Then, there are devotionals that get you back into the Bible and get you talking to God on a daily basis, and starting your day out devoted to a scripture that you can repeat throughout the day that wills you to lift your spirit.
“Just because I understand fear doesn’t mean that fear doesn’t get into my thinking.” Jackelyn Viera Iloff