Sometimes in the telling of our stories, we get stuck.
Stuck? Yes.
Here are a few common contributors:
1. Guilt. We may have trouble forgiving ourselves. To be sure, we all make mistakes in the course of living through adversity. Even with all of the hesitations, second guessing, or impulse decisions, I still assume that most people are doing the best they can with what they know at the time. The trouble is, we judge our past decisions by what we know now. But, we didn’t know then what we know now! Pursue the paths of forgiveness for yourself.
2. Anger. People fail us. Plans go awry. Sometimes, we have unrealistic expectations. And less than stellar results stir up our anger. If you have journeyed through the land of adversity for very long, you have probably had good reason to be angry about something. But, “angry” is no way to live. Identify the source of your anger, and take the necessary measures to address it, reconcile it, let it go, or have someone else mediate the conflict for you.
3. Discouragement. Perhaps as a partial result of the first two, we may be stuck in telling our story simply because we are discouraged. In other words, we have lost sight of hope. If this lands where you live, I can empathize. Seasons of prolonged adversity almost always involve detours into discouragement. But, you have permission to experience hope again. Find the person who encourages you, or confide in the person who helps you reframe and redirect your thoughts. You can re-emerge!
Next week, I will share a framework for telling your story that can help you work through any of these three contributors to being stuck in telling your story.
Worth Repeating
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.
-Desmond Tutu
Listen to Bruce’s podcast with Denise Brown on caregiving.com
On Thursday, August 14th, I began a three part podcast with Denise Brown on caregiving.com about Telling Your Story and Where You Get Stuck in Your Story. This is a 30 minute podcast and requires no special sign in to listen.
So, please take a moment to listen and perhaps even to make a comment! You might win a free book!
The next one airs at noon (ET) on Thursday, August 28th, or you can catch it on demand.
