What's Your Story?

We are often asked "How are you doing?"  or "What's new?" to which the automatic responses seem to be "I'm good." or "Nothing much."  When was the last time someone asked something deeper, like "What's your story?"

This came up in an email conversation I had a few weeks back, as a getting to know you question, and it really made me stop and think.  I honestly didn't know what to say - I hadn't really considered my story in some time and wondered where to even start.  I took it away with me and found myself reflecting on that question throughout my day and the days that followed.

While I was on a run that morning I had ample time to turn it over in my mind.  Especially when the going got hard, as it inevitably did.  I was working through some fatigue and starting to notice negative thoughts about the upcoming race and why I was even considering entering it when I could just call it quits for now and focus on the Chicago Marathon this fall.  As I became more entrenched in this downward energy spiral, that question popped in my head "what's your story?"  What a distraction!  Suddenly I began to think about what I wanted my story to be in that moment - that I was stronger than I thought, that I was moving through a moment of adversity, that I would push through and complete the training session and would feel proud of what I had accomplished.  As these narratives started to come forward I could feel my energy shift and the fatigue that had been growing began to fade.  I had a few more opportunities on that run to try this exercise again, and each time I nudged up against some negative thoughts or energy I began to craft my story and one again noticed the shift out of that downward spiral.

What I found so interesting was the impact that those three little words had in the moment - often I would have tended towards other three word combinations, such as: "get over it!" or "shake it off!" or "what's your problem?!"  And as I would have moved towards those other three word combos, you can likely imagine what the outcome would have been - negative energy coupled with a punitive and judgmental vibes.  Not terribly helpful or healthy.

Taking a closer look at your story provides an opportunity to review and edit the scripts you have been running.  I am absolutely guilty of holding onto old stories that have either been given to me by others or ones that I have self-created and tend to be riddled with misinformation and inaccuracies.  What a gift it is to unravel those stale and tired plot lines and add some meaningful and valid updates.  I think that many of us are due for a re-write or at least an updated and enhanced version of what we believe our story to be.  

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