The rest is still unwritten

Our lives are made up of a series of stories or narratives. Stories are how our human brains understand and process the world around us. Sometimes we’re the brave hero in our story... sometimes we’re the downtrodden underdog... sometimes we’re the villain.

Our role in any particular chapter of our story is based on how we choose to see ourselves in each circumstance. Often the stories we tell paint us in a negative light, or when conflict arises we paint others as villains who are out to get us.

It’s the nature of humans to look for the worst in a situation. We are hardwired to be on the watch for danger all around us. The most primitive part of our brain functions solely for our survival, so it is constantly looking for threats and finds them around every corner.

But we’re more than the most primitive part of our brain, and our mammalian, human brains differ from our reptilian relatives in that they process emotions and complex thoughts and have the ability to remember and reason. So we can pause and decide if the danger we instinctively see is real or perceived. And then we can respond in a way that’s more appropriate to the more accurate reality of our situation.

So, how do we know what’s true and accurate and what’s not? Well, we can’t know for certain. Because what one person determines to be completely true about a circumstance will be determined to be 100 percent false to another person. Hence every disagreement since the beginning of time.

How do we decide then, what to believe? Well, we get to choose the thoughts that determine our feelings that drive our actions and ultimately lead to the results that we see in our lives.

Consider this, If we get to choose what to believe, then why not choose to write a story that helps us live our purpose, one that encourages us and gives us the courage to shine our light in the world?

What if instead of looking for villains we choose to believe the best about the difficult people we encounter and to have compassion knowing that their brain is simply telling them a scary story and their unpleasantness is coming from a place of fear deep within themselves, and not about us.

These stories, narratives, beliefs that we perceive to be true can and in many cases should be questioned. We are not powerless over these stories. We can choose to rewrite them at any time. To change who our character is becoming and decide who we want to become instead. We are all meant to do important work in the world. That work looks different for everyone, and sometimes it takes some rewriting to find.

Questioning limiting beliefs and replacing them with empowering truths is one of the concepts I work on with my clients. If you’ve like to learn more about how to rewrite your story, I’d love to visit with you.

I hope my experiences remind you that even when it feels like it, you're never alone. I'm right there with you, using and sharing all the resources I have to navigate through life as gracefully as possible. ❤️