I recently started reading a book called The Power of Story. I found it at a thrift store and it was one of a stack of books I didn't need but brought home anyway. I picked it up in a tired moment at work and now come back to it every free moment I can find.
The short summary is that "your story is your life." And the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, can either be a defense mechanism against chaos or a thoughtfully crafted narrative of who we are, what's important to us, and where we're trying to get to in life. Loehr wrote the book based on years of career consulting with professional athletes, coaches, and executives. It could get hokey, but it doesn't. It's actually pretty well written and it makes me think.
The first part of the book is about your "Old Story." The one you have been telling yourself about why you are who you are. Loehr wants you to write that down, in excruciating detail, to see how and where what you tell yourself about yourself keeps you in your place. And then later, I guess he's going to want us to write a new one.
That idea really has me thinking. Especially about a specific area of my work, as I tell myself over and over again, "This is not what I set out to do; maybe I'm good at it but its not what I wanted," and so on, and so on, and so on. As permission not to try too hard at that thing I don't enjoy, versus giving it my best just for the satisfaction.So this exercise hit me hard last night, and I'd like to share it with you. I'm always interested to hear your comments, even if they are just a "huh."
Exercise: Parts of your story get perpetuated simply because they have no immediate consequences, because you don't have to justify them, because no one calls you on it, because you can. See if that's still true after you call yourself on it.
Keep a daily log of five things you suspect you do because you can get away with it. So, for example, log every time you turn on and turn off the TV (calculate the hours its on), or the frequency with which you check email or go online, or go to the bathroom, or drink soda, or smoke cigarettes, or yell at someone (and apologize). You may be surprised by what the results look like, in black and white:
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I've been thinking about this alot as I switch to a meat and dairy-free diet and begin a new life in Virginia.
Very interesting... I'm going to chew on this a bit.
Posted by: Sarah | August 13, 2011 at 09:21 AM