Without your story? (By story, I mean the things you’ve always told yourself, ABOUT yourself. For instance, “I’m fat”, “I’m smart”, “I’m this, that, or the other thing…”)
This is a question I’m asking myself today. It was prompted partly by my journal, and partly by a random newsletter received by email. (Divine intervention?) “Who Would You Be Without Your Story?” is, I believe, the title of a book by a very wise woman named Byron Katie.
We creative types are especially good at telling ourselves stories. I’m a past-master at it, because I’ve been spinning yarns, on paper and in my head, since I was a very small child. It’s a necessary part of my work, telling stories. It’s what I do, and I love it. The trouble is, I often forget to shut off the storymaking machine in my head when I leave the computer.
I tell myself a variety of things. Many of them are good. A lot of them, however, could use some improvement. 🙂 And it’s only logical to wonder how many of these tales are actually TRUE?
When I make a mistake, I tend to berate myself for it, because one of my many besetting sins is perfectionism. I’ll bet a lot of you can identify. If I’m not careful, I might tell myself something like, “You’re an idiot.”
Is that true? (Depends on who you ask. 🙂 Just kidding.) I’m gloriously imperfect, being a card-carrying human being, but I’m definitely NOT an idiot.
Stories. They become our operating system, like Vista in a PC, and guide our thoughts, attitudes and, inevitably, our actions. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to take a much closer look at the things I’m telling myself.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
