Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Get Your Story Straight



Once upon a time...

The familiar phrase that launched us into whimsical childhood stories and now serves as the title to a very popular television show.

It's all about STORY, the purposeful weaving together of facts to arrive at a predetermined point. Your story is not only about what has happened to you, but about what you have become as a result of what happened to you.

I once heard a story about two brothers who were raised by their father, a drunk who was often violent and couldn't hold down a job. One brother grew up to become a thriving businessman who loved his family and never took a drink. The other brother grew up to be just like his father. When their father eventually passed away, both sons made the same statement at his funeral, "Everything I am today, I owe to my dad."

Same story, same statement, different outcome. What made the difference? The way each brother interpreted the story.

Trainer/Mentor Coach and Dean of Curriculum at Coach Training Alliance, David Krueger, M. D. says, "Story is the most powerful way humans communicate. Stories give birth to possibility. Stories are a way that we resonate with our earlier selves, connect with others, and create a road map to proceed. Our brains are wired to process information in narrative form. The narrative we construct navigates our lives."

What stories have you been telling yourself? How do these stories make you feel?

Don't remain a prisoner of your past. Can you change what happened? No. But you CAN change how you see and experience your present and future. Research has proven that your subconscious can't tell the difference between a real or an imagined experience. The mind only goes by what its told. So, if you don't like what you see, change the script! Here's a wonderful article segment by Joseph M. Carver, Ph.D. about how to do just that.

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." ~ Proverbs 23:7 KJV