Choosing Love Over Fear

Choosing Love Over Fear

This morning, on my walk of reflection, I made a decision. I gave this day to love. Not just the concept of love, but the living word that carries weight in my life: my daughter’s middle name, Love.

The contrast is clear—love or fear. Love is truth, stillness, and peace. Fear is illusion—uneasy, unbalanced, timid, and full of turmoil. Every single decision we make can be filtered through these two lenses. Whether it’s getting out of bed, putting forth our best effort, treating others with kindness, or using people for selfish gain—we are always choosing.

That choice creates an attitude. Grateful or bitter, present or distracted, centered or shaken. But beneath those options, there’s always a deeper current: love or fear.

When I walk in love, I carry myself with presence. I focus, I breathe, and I move with gratitude. Fear may want to creep in, but it only offers illusions. Fear feeds off the stories that aren’t true. Love brings truth and quiet peace.

In sports, we talk about mental performance through three areas:

• B for body language

• F for focus

• S for self-talk

Whether on the bowling lanes or in life, these three shape our presence. We can choose to listen to ourselves (often fear-based) or talk to ourselves (choosing love and truth).

Today, I chose to give my self-talk, my focus, and my body language over to love. Bella’s middle name, Love, reminds me daily that my daughter was never meant to be defined by fear. And neither was I.

It would be strange if her name was Bella Fear Castillo. But it’s not—it’s Bella Love Castillo. That reminder keeps me grounded. It tells me that when fear knocks, I don’t have to answer. I can dismiss it as the illusion it is.

So I walked today with love. I chose gratitude. I chose to carry peace into every interaction. I chose truth over illusions. And I will keep choosing love—because when I do, everyone I cross paths with is changed for the better.