“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.― Maya Angelou
Think of life as a story. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. It is an ongoing story, with no spoilers and no summarized versions. Our habits, goals, perspectives, places we have been, people we have met, things we have done are all part of our story. Some people are dissatisfied with their story. They feel that they have been dealt a series of unfortunate circumstances, that brought them to this point of their life. Or maybe we are unsatisfied with our lives, wondering how we got to where we are today. Wherever our stories are at the present moment, they don’t have to stay that way. We are the authors of our stories, and every day we get to write another page. So how do we do that?
Some people feel that change is useless because their lives have always been a certain way so it will remain that way forever. We might tell ourselves that we have always been overweight, lazy, or bad with money, so we will stay like that forever. These things we tell ourselves have an important role in who we have been, and who we become. If we want to make a change in our lives, we have to change our story. Become your own fan rather than critic. Be realistic about your current situation, then plan the small steps that you can follow to make a change.
Just because we don’t like our past doesn’t mean our future will follow the same trend. Although, in order to make the change, we can’t be stuck in the past or the future. Our only option is to be in the present. Learn from the past and have your goals set to be accomplished for a future date, but all the work has to come from the present. Otherwise we are stuck in regret or denial. When we tell ourselves that we will do it next week, week after week, we are in denial. It’s a form of procrastination because the time passes, but we never get to the task.
Set your goal for the future, but make sure your efforts and work stay in the present moment. If we have a big goal we want to achieve a year from now, break it down into monthly goals. Every month, break it down to weekly goals and every week break it down into daily goals. Some people might be tempted to break it down into weekly and daily goals from the beginning. This is a task that tends to be overwhelming and can cause us to lose motivation. Change is inevitable, and by planning all of your days way in advance, we are not accommodating for the inevitable and spontaneous change that happens in life. Having an idea of what your future weekly and daily plans are is fine, but make sure to wait until it gets closer before you write it down in stone. This approach also gives us more flexibility, which will help us in achieving our goals instead of getting frustrated when things don’t go according to plan.
By working on our story, we have more of a voice in what goes on in our life. We can begin to get closer to accomplishing our dreams, and living a happy and fulfilled life. Even if you like your story, consider how you can make it better. Even just something like being more grateful can make your story better. You are given a valuable life, and you are the author of it. Create yourself a story that you’ll love, chapter after chapter, page after page.
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