Rewrite the stories of your life

I received an email yesterday from an old acquaintance-friend, Sarah. It was a letter telling me how wonderful her life has been over the last year. A true adventure, mythical hero’s journey full of romance and castles, only without a wicked witch or any evil.

I confess that while reading your letter, I began to compare my life with hers. And mine was missing a lot. I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach and said, “Hey, loser. You’re wasting your life.” Luckily for me, my very close friend Cathleen quickly stepped in. “Sarah’s life is no better than yours or mine, she’s just a great storyteller. I’m sure she has problems like we do, she just left them out.”

So I asked myself, what if I told the story of my own life over the last year in the same way that Sarah told hers? What would my story be?

So I had a cup of blackberry tea, sat down with my laptop and started writing. My story turned out to be more of a classic adventure story. There was a big dream that was calling me and risks that simply had to be taken. My version also had dragons and an evil witch that I had to fight. Also, there were rainbow sightings and encounters with mentors to guide me. I must admit, this retelling of the story of my senior year leaves me excited for my own life, proud of what I’ve done and survived, and even leaves me looking forward to future adventures. This is a very different perspective on the same events that had brought me down before. I didn’t alter the facts, I just changed the story I told about them.

And I found that it’s a fantastic tool to reframe your perspective on your own life, to go from feeling like a victim and out of control, to seeing yourself as the hero, the one that others find inspiring, brave and confident. Sarah has developed a knack for rewriting her own history in a way that fuels her confidence and makes her powerful and successful. All of the brain research, along with psychological studies over time, show that what we say about ourselves, to ourselves, matters. This way of storytelling that Sarah has developed, well, that could benefit me as well. It’s a skill I can learn too. Like any other skill, it just takes practice and time.

In what area of ​​your life do you feel particularly discouraged? If you had to rewrite your story, would you do it? I challenge you to write your own story of your life over the last few weeks, months, or perhaps years. And tell me what you discover along the way. Even better, share your story with others on my website.