Want to live your best life? You may need to change the stories
Your story is being written in this moment by your thoughts…
Whether you like it or not, whether you even realise it or not. These stories can be small and seem insignificant or so big that they become your identity. They may look like:
“I can’t do that because _________”
“I’ve never been any good at ______________”
“People don’t like me because _____________”
“I can never save money”
“I can never lose weight”
You get the picture. We create these stories. Stories about things being good, about things being bad. About how we are in the world, and these stories often include words like ‘always’ and ‘never’ - words that feel pretty concrete. We will then tell ourselves these stories, that then shapes our world and creates our reality, because our minds will seek out evidence to prove that these stories are the truth.
This is how we build limiting belief systems. These are the neural pathways that get strengthened because we use them so often, in fact we prioritise them! So, what do you do when you catch yourself in one of these stories? Well, we have to catch ourselves.
“Turn the flashlight on - the attentional flashlight that is. “
Becoming aware of your stories is the very first step. For me this is a combination of meditation and journaling. I would also say that it is incredibly important that you approach this without judgement. Know that these stories are created over years, more often than not, they started off as a way for your mind to keep you safe. So don’t get caught up in the story as you become aware of it.
Instead, flip it. Yep, turn that story on its head. Ask yourself, when you become of the story, is it true? Then in true Byron Katie form, ask yourself again, is it really true? If you don’t have 100% evidence that it is true (hint: I’m yet to find a story that is true!) then what is another story, a higher vibe, story that is full of self-worth that you can flip it to?
A true story
Here is an example of one of my negative story loops. I had convinced myself that I could never give up coffee. Seems small but I was consuming waaaay too much, daily! By the time it was midday, it was fairly normal for me to be 4-5 coffee’s deep.
I had a number of stories going for this, and they were doozies!
“coffee doesn’t impact me, I’m one of the lucky ones”
“I’ve got young babies, I need my coffee to function”
“No coffee, no conversation”
“I’ve let go of so many vices, this one I’m keeping”
Spoiler - none of the above is true. You’ll start to notice over time that as you become aware of how funny some of these stories can be. The fact that I believed that coffee didn’t impact me, yet I really had no idea because I was overloading on caffeine! I even had it pointed out on more than one occasion.
Once I had become aware that this was one of my stories, I got curious. I didn’t spend time wondering why the stories had been created or getting caught in a judgement spiral. I just started to notice. I started to change the internal chatter, after all, I could function without coffee.
These days I have changed up the story. I trust that my body has the ability to naturally wake up. I love to see how I function without the caffeine, and you know what I can actually tell the impact that it was having on my body. What too much looks and feels like.
So, what about you? What are some of the stories that you’ve been weaving for yourself? Can you identify just one? If you want to, take a moment to use this in a meditation, or you can write it out.
What is one story that you’ve been telling yourself that has created a limiting belief?
Is it true?
Is it really true?
Can you flip it to give this story for some higher energy?
Doing this may seem like it won’t have a massive impact, but it 100% does. It starts to change the way in which you see yourself, your world and your place in the world. This is a major step in manifestation. Want your dream life? Know your stories!
If you want to share with me, I’d love to hear from you. You can share in comments below or over on ‘The Gram.