Thoughts on Stories

This is what’s on my mind lately.

I’ve been on a few long-haul flights lately and am never one to fall fully asleep. So I lay awake thinking, contemplating and genuinely enjoying the seemingly endless hours of uninterrupted thought. I find it quite therapeutic and grounding.

So lately I’ve been thinking a lot about stories, especially those we tell ourselves about ourselves. For example, why does freelancing not seem like a “real job” to most people or why do people think they need to be a “sporty person” before applying a bit more physical activity in their daily lives? Why do we label ourselves and repeat stories of what we are capable of in limited ways? More importantly, and this is where I get really excited is- how can we rewrite our stories for the better?

Surely we cannot rewrite much of the past. Maybe we can reframe the way we always thought about the past when we review a memory in our head or share the memory verbally with someone in conversation, but what stories do we have now about ourselves can we start rewriting today?

Perhaps I should start. Take freelancing for example. I used to be one of those people who thought freelancing was always a temporary thing until I found a “real job”. That a “real job” meant security, benefits, and prestige. But I have found that to be untrue. Freelancing is a wonderful job with limitless creative and earning potential. The benefits a corporate job would give me I can pay for and give myself. I have control over how I organize my schedule. I work where I want. There is no HR, I am the HR. It’s fantastic. So this is the story of freelancing I tell instead of the old story I used to tell of “I’m just freelancing while I look for work”. So lame. Thank goodness I turned that story around!!

So here’s a thought I leave with you, what is one story you are telling yourself about yourself that no longer serves you or that you would like to rewrite? What would that new story be?

Thanks for reading,

Diane.