fall leaves over a road courtesy FlickrCC paul bica

Funny. And humbling

I want to tell you something funny. It’s so ironic. As I was sitting down to write this article I did the exact thing I was going to write about helping you to not do. There’s something poetic about that—and humbling.

Getting caught

I was getting started on writing this article and got seriously sidetracked by my mind. It got me thinking of how frustrated I was at being interrupted, again, as I attempted to do my writing. This is my fourth attempt at getting started. Here’s why: the first two times, I got interrupted when my mobile rang. The third time I tried starting, I’d silenced my device, but got seriously way-laid in having a mini rant to myself about how studies show it takes over 25 minutes on average to regain the same amount of concentration—especially for creative endeavors.

Catching myself

In other words, I got caught up in doing exactly what I sat down to write about helping you not do: I got caught up in my own story. And it wasn’t serving me. It was actually blocking me from achieving what I wanted to achieve, even though thinking about how important it was to be able to focus and get into my flow seemed like it was helping. (And felt very righteous, too.)

I love this stuff

Getting back on track and out of my story-rant felt like a herculean effort. It was easier to stay in story mode, feeling like things were out of my hands, and getting frustrated. It was harder to take a step back, ask myself if the story was serving me, and then question the truth of it when I realized it didn’t.

5 Questions to help you Re-write Your Story

This is something I do over and over again. 1.Is this story helping me get where I want to go? 2.Is this version the absolute truth? 3.Am I recognizing the part I play in creating this? 4.What are the facts? 5.How can I re-tell this story in a way that helps me get where I want to go? There’s hard facts and details here, but there’s also magic. There’s transformation, and evolution, and refusing to play victim. There’s taking charge of our life, and…

finding the peace and strength to actually pull it off.

That’s the benefit of re-writing a story-rant. And re-writing my “I’m being interrupted and it’s really preventing me from getting important stuff done” story is just the tip of the iceberg.

What’s your story?

Other stories I’ve helped people re-write have featured them in starring victim roles, playing the part of always-unsupported daughter, perpetually rejected lover, or never-valued employee. The thing about these story lines is that we perpetuate them.

We re-create what we believe to be true about ourselves, and other people.

When we re-write our past story in a way that serves us better, we re-write our future. We’re creating instead of reacting. Owning our strength instead of playing small. We’re getting set to shine.

Destiny calls.

Today

Choose your favorite ‘poor me’ story—we all have one. Ask yourself the 5 Questions. Re-write the story in a way that helps you get where you want to go. Choose an alternate role for yourself: hero or comedian or…shamanic healer. Elephant tamer. You decide. Life is like a choose-your-own adventure book. You get to decide the ending. Thinking of you, xL

Today’s Tweetable Facebook post

@lindsey_lewis: Life is like a choose-your-own adventure book. You get to decide the ending. #365dayshappy image credit: fall leaves over a road courtesy FlickrCC paul bica