What's Your Story

In the midst of what has now marked what literally the entire world will remember about the year 2020 - the COVID19 pandemic, I have spent some time self reflecting. I wish I could tell you that this has happened while I sit outside watching the beautiful yellow and orange hues of the sunrise, with a warm cup of coffee in hand basking in the crisp morning air. Although I could replicate that scene with an instagram worthy photo, and a catchy tagline, it is definitely far from my reality.

In fact, most of my self reflection happens, yes sometimes early in the morning or in the evening as I'm winding down. However, most of it truly happens in between juggling the office/daycare/restaurant/elementary school/high school that our home (like many of yours) is currently functioning as.

There are many topics that have engulfed these self-reflecting moments, but one that seems to come up consistently is this question, "what gets you fired up?" What I am asking with this question is what are the things in my environment and in other environments that I am invited into that truly set me off. Not necessarily things that make me angry, but topics that stir up a passion within me that send me swirling with a ton of ideas on how I can help make a difference.

When I explore a bit deeper I realize that many of the those topics are tied to my life experiences. Does my work experience play a role, sure, but more than that, these topics are tied to my life story. A story in which many times I have been involved in writing full chapters, sometimes only paragraphs, and way more times than I can count, I've had what I have written erased and rewritten. If there is one thing that I have learned it is that I don't fully own the writing of my story, I share that piece with my creator. Emphasis on "share" because I believe that we truly have more control over our destinies than we give ourselves credit for. I think many times phrases like "I'm not worried, it's in God's hands" are used as a crutch to relieve ourselves of taking responsibility and ownership for our actions. I get it, there are many situations that truly must release into God's hands, but there are certainly things that we contribute (or don't) in how we choose to experience those seasons.

As the main character of my story I have control over how I react to what is written and the chapters that are to come. I believe there is POWER in my story and there is power in your story, but you get to decide how you are going to exercise that power.

So - in a world where we can literally share our story with the entire world (hello-social media!) Have you thought about why you are sharing your story?

Do you share pieces of your story to create a "pity party" around yourself or to draw attention to yourself so people can say "oh you're so strong," "oh you're so brave." Is it merely to get affirmation from others while on the inside you continue to be broken?

Do you share your story as an excuse for why your life is the way it is now?

Do you say things like - "This is just how I am because growing up I went through x,y,z, and you're just going to have to deal with it." There is nothing worse than going through life with a victim mentally and feeling like everyone is always against you - trust me, everyone's got their own stuff going on and they are way more worried about themselves than ruining your life.

Or do take responsibility and own your story.

Do you share it with those around you to truly bring hope to those who may be walking a journey that you have already walked. To reassure others that although your journey may not look exactly like theirs, you are living proof that things will get better.

I believe that there is a reason why we go through so many seasons in life and what I've found is it makes those seasons worth it when I get to use them to bring hope to others.

Should we use those moments and seasons to grow as individuals?

Of course that's important and if you are not using those hard seasons as learning experiences and growth opportunities - you should be.

My self-reflection has led me here - to this blog. A place where I plan to share aspects of my story and what I have learned along the way in hopes that it helps someone reading it. My story has many facets, it's sometimes quite complicated, many times joyful, but at times even cringe worthy. I will share with you how I have let my story shape me and allow me to thrive even in the darkest of days.

I will leave you with this great quote from Brene Brown's book Rising Strong:

"Our job is not to deny the story, but to defy the ending - to rise strong, recognize our story, and rumble with the truth until we get to a place where we think, Yes. This what happened, This is my truth, and I will choose how this story ends."

What if your story is the tool someone else needs to change how their story ends?

#Ownyourstory #Personaldevelopment #Growthmindset #Risestrong #Ownit