Stories are wonderful things. We read them in books. We hear them from other people. Some of us will even pay money to see them on a large screen in the form of a movie.
We associate with stories – when there is excitement, happiness, sadness, or anger – it affects our feelings. Sometimes we even form an empathetical bond with one or more of the characters. A good story can easily be remembered and sometimes partially relived in daily life. For instance, while I don’t really swear very much (some of my coworkers who have worked with me for over a decade have never heard me swear), around home I’m really good at quoting DeadPool saying “What the $h!t!” for lots of occasions because it made a very humorous impression on me.
So, what about the stories we tell ourselves about who and what we are? Your mind is a very powerful creator. Think about all that talk and those beliefs running through your head at this very moment. Are you thinking that it’s true, that your mind is a very powerful creator? Are you wondering if you have any power, or perhaps any control over your mind or your thoughts?
You are creating your own story right now in this present moment. Who are you telling yourself you are? What are you telling yourself you are? Are you letting other people create your story through their words or actions towards you?
So now that you have the gestalt of your own internal story telling capability and just how powerful it is in your life right now, I have one more question. Is that story serving you or is it stopping you? We all want things in life, your story will help you make them happen, or it will stand in the way of achieving what you desire. The good news is that you can make the choice. You first need to realize that you are responsible for what you think and the stories you tell yourself.
Process 1: How did I use a story to make my life better initially?
I created a vision of future me in my head. One that was happy, healthy, super fit, had lots of money, and no problems or challenges. I spent a few moments every day in the morning when I woke up and every night before I went to sleep envisioning what my life would look like. I became VERY clear on how I acted and felt. I made it very real for me.
Over the course of a few weeks, I noticed things changing in my life. Professionally, I wasn’t as stressed out, answers were coming easier, and people around me seemed happier. Personally, I was enjoying life more and taking better care of myself.
Then I hit a roadblock. I stopped visualizing and telling myself my story every morning and every night. Things went well for awhile, but then I began to backslide into my well-worn habits. I was stressed out and everything took a lot of effort to get it to work.
So I started visualizing my story again and things got better. I start and stopped my visualization process a few times until it turned into a habit. I’ve been using my own story for years now and I’ve literally achieved EVERYTHING I wanted.
Process 2: I have it all, now what?
Now I want more. I want to make a different story. I’ve got a lot of VERY successful habits and attitudes in place and I lead a very successful and happy existence. My goal is to add onto that, so I’m going to modify and power-up my story. I’m going to take my greatest strengths as well as some things I want to improve about myself and create an Outline that I can easily remember, visualize, and act on in the present moment. For me, that means that I will want to have a “core”, a “career”, and “passions” to keep me purposed in every moment.
For me that looks like the following:
Core (Numbered in order of importance)
- I AM Present Moment Aware
- I AM Grateful and Appreciative
- I AM Calm and Accepting
- I AM Creative
Career (both are of equal importance, so no numerical order is necessary)
- I AM a successful Information Technologies Professional
- I AM a successful Health and Life Coach
Passions (numbered, but only for memorization purposes)
- Learning and Personal Growth
- Bio Hacking
- Creating and Building
- Spending Time With Friends and Family
- Camping
- Helping Others Be Happy/Successful
If all those “I AM” statements look like affirmations, it’s because they are. Realistic affirmations backed up with feeling are a great way to create new thought patterns and habits. Funny note here, if you’re as old as I am and you remember the SNL affirmation skits, feel free to chuckle just a little bit right now.
I’m using my morning and afternoon time visualizing my life being lived according to this list. That keeps it at the top of my mind throughout the day, so I can assess what I’m doing in the present moment to see if it aligns with what is truly important to me.
These 2 processes have changed my life. It is my desire that they help you as well. Thank you for reading!
That’s it! Thank you for reading! If you’re looking for more help in optimizing your own life and would like to engage my services, or have an idea for a blog post, feel free to contact me.
Wishing you happiness, health, and success!
-Gregg
