Telling a Different Story
Can you rewrite a narrative that has already been written?
We get boxed into what we think other people expect from us and that stops us from living our own life. We do jobs that simply ‘pay the bills’, we settle on partners that are ‘comfortable’ and spend time with friends who don’t challenge, inspire and uplift us. And what happens when we do this? We don’t grow. We follow a path that has been set out for us by the perception we believe the world has of us.
But at what stage is the right time to pause, and ponder… ‘is what I am doing making me happy on a soul level?’ We hear and listen to peoples stories every day but when it comes to ourselves, we often just read the headings. Society teaches us that there is one linear path to success and to happiness and if you don’t adhere to the steps of the timeline that is linked to your age, then you are a failure. It’s time to take ownership of our personal timeline and first put it under scrutiny and then throw it away. We are not put on this earth to only ‘do’ things, we are on a journey of self-discovery and this is what writing your own life story is all about.
It’s vital to stop chasing instant gratification, recognition, money, fame or anything else you may be having tunnel vision about. Focus on your passion. But sometimes the most difficult thing is not the focus, but the discovery of what that truly is. We have so many external factors influencing our decisions every day. We also have our past and our childhood holding us back from realising our full potential. We are defined not by our barriers, but by our freedom.
The only person who can break down the barriers between yourself now and your ‘free’ self is you. It helps to have teachers who will challenge you and speak words of truth and wisdom and not of empathy. Surround yourself with those that will challenge your mind and the thoughts that happen within it. I would say one of the most important things is to get guidance from people who will challenge you and not sugar coat anything. Listen to the things you don’t want to hear. Allow the metaphorical demons to emergy and tackle them, one by one. There will be more than you think, I guarantee it but working through them will bring a lightness like that of a floating feather.
Be the only person who writes your story. And then be your own editor that will tear it to shreds and make you reconsider every choice and decision. But when you revise the draft and keep working on it, you know for certain that each piece of the story is written with intent, love and care.
Your past does not define you and your future is not a straight line. What happened to us as children were not our choice and we shouldn’t let psychological fears stop us. These factors will forever hold you back from achieving your greatest potential unless you deal with them first. And the only way to do that is to be vulnerable and to be raw. Stop running and start to be.
