Sometimes, life can feel like an endless stream of disconnected events and experiences, thrown at us without explanation.
We're human. We need to make meaning.
So we go to church, or therapy, or the watering hole with our buddies, in search of this meaning.
We tell each other, and ourselves, stories. It helps us put order to the chaos.
You know all of this already.
But, the stories we use to make sense of the past are often the same ones we unconsciously turn to when looking to the future. The decisions we make, large and small, sometimes reflect outdated stories we continue to tell, about ourselves and about this 'thing' called life.
Whether we wrote them ourselves, or picked them up from others, these stories tell us how to play the part: which career to pursue, which person to marry, which path to follow in life.
Depending on the circumstances, we can play the hero, the villain, the damsel in distress, the innocent bystander, and many more characters - all in one day. And we cast those around us to play supporting roles.
Whether we write our stories down, report them to friends, or just retell them quietly to ourselves, we cling to stories because of our need for life to make sense.
But our precious stories don't always work in our favor, and sometimes they need a Rewrite. In order for us to grow and change, our stories have to change, too.
Here are 5 signs that you might need a Rewrite.
1. You can't move forward towards your desire
You want to shoot your shot, but you stop yourself every time. You know what you want to do, but you can't seem to take the steps to get any closer to your goal.
This is more than just writer's block. It's creative constipation, and it can affect any or all aspects of our lives.
Not asking for that raise. Not talking to the cute guy or gal at the coffee shop. Not saying yes to going out with friends and sitting on the couch all weekend instead.
It's one thing to take it easy. It's another thing to psych ourselves out before trying anything difficult or new. If you've been sitting on a desire to make something happen in your life, and can't figure out why you're not taking steps towards that goal, a Rewrite might help you get started.
2. You want to play a different character
There once was a girl who used to hover in the back at live music events. She loved music, and enjoyed being with friends, but It was more important to her to have a safe escape route than to be swept away by the music.
Until one day, her favorite musician came to town. She hovered in the back of the concert hall, in her usual spot, peering over bobbing heads and swaying bodies. She felt unhappy and frustrated, because her priorities had changed before her story about herself had.
Being swept away was now the only thing she wanted. She realized that stading in the back was no longer good enough. As her feet moved underneath her and she pushed past the sweaty crowd, the girl who hovers in the back became the girl who stands in the front.
Rewriting yourself helps us shed old habits, patterns, and ways of thinking. Think of it as updating your storytelling software, and cleaning out your character's cache.
And yes, the girl who stands in the front is me, now.
3. You are distracted by chaos
Maybe you had to completely reorganize your life recently, because of a change or major loss, and now you can't seem to find your feet underneath you.
Or maybe it just always seems like there's a fire in some part of your life. As soon as you get one thing under control, another disaster strikes.
A little bit of chaos can be fun. But complete disorganization is disorienting.
Rewrite Yourself to let the swirling snow globe settle, eliminate mental and emotional clutter, and find a higher order to your thoughts.
4. You can't find "the lesson and the blessing"
Ever have an argument replay in your head, against your will? Or unsavory characters taking up space in your life without paying rent?
If we complain about it out loud, often the unhelpful advice that comes back is, "Just let it go."
If only it were that easy.
In fact, sometimes there's a really good reason we can't let go of unpleasant details.
The limbic system of the brain sometimes remains activated long after a traumatic event, until we can make sense of that event using higher order functioning of the brain. This is the brain's way of protecting us from future upsets and dangers - if it can make sense from chaos, then it stops replaying the trauma.
In other words, we can't let go of that upsetting event until we can find a way to understand and integrate it.
Rewriting yourself takes you out of the center of the story. Well-researched methods support the notion of writing to make sense of loss or difficult events. Rewrite your way from disconnection to connection
5. You can't make decisions
Numb
6. You'd rather not
Depression
We're human. We need to make meaning.
So we go to church, or therapy, or the watering hole with our buddies, in search of this meaning.
We tell each other, and ourselves, stories. It helps us put order to the chaos.
You know all of this already.
But, the stories we use to make sense of the past are often the same ones we unconsciously turn to when looking to the future. The decisions we make, large and small, sometimes reflect outdated stories we continue to tell, about ourselves and about this 'thing' called life.
Whether we wrote them ourselves, or picked them up from others, these stories tell us how to play the part: which career to pursue, which person to marry, which path to follow in life.
Depending on the circumstances, we can play the hero, the villain, the damsel in distress, the innocent bystander, and many more characters - all in one day. And we cast those around us to play supporting roles.
Whether we write our stories down, report them to friends, or just retell them quietly to ourselves, we cling to stories because of our need for life to make sense.
But our precious stories don't always work in our favor, and sometimes they need a Rewrite. In order for us to grow and change, our stories have to change, too.
Here are 5 signs that you might need a Rewrite.
1. You can't move forward towards your desire
You want to shoot your shot, but you stop yourself every time. You know what you want to do, but you can't seem to take the steps to get any closer to your goal.
This is more than just writer's block. It's creative constipation, and it can affect any or all aspects of our lives.
Not asking for that raise. Not talking to the cute guy or gal at the coffee shop. Not saying yes to going out with friends and sitting on the couch all weekend instead.
It's one thing to take it easy. It's another thing to psych ourselves out before trying anything difficult or new. If you've been sitting on a desire to make something happen in your life, and can't figure out why you're not taking steps towards that goal, a Rewrite might help you get started.
2. You want to play a different character
There once was a girl who used to hover in the back at live music events. She loved music, and enjoyed being with friends, but It was more important to her to have a safe escape route than to be swept away by the music.
Until one day, her favorite musician came to town. She hovered in the back of the concert hall, in her usual spot, peering over bobbing heads and swaying bodies. She felt unhappy and frustrated, because her priorities had changed before her story about herself had.
Being swept away was now the only thing she wanted. She realized that stading in the back was no longer good enough. As her feet moved underneath her and she pushed past the sweaty crowd, the girl who hovers in the back became the girl who stands in the front.
Rewriting yourself helps us shed old habits, patterns, and ways of thinking. Think of it as updating your storytelling software, and cleaning out your character's cache.
And yes, the girl who stands in the front is me, now.
3. You are distracted by chaos
Maybe you had to completely reorganize your life recently, because of a change or major loss, and now you can't seem to find your feet underneath you.
Or maybe it just always seems like there's a fire in some part of your life. As soon as you get one thing under control, another disaster strikes.
A little bit of chaos can be fun. But complete disorganization is disorienting.
Rewrite Yourself to let the swirling snow globe settle, eliminate mental and emotional clutter, and find a higher order to your thoughts.
4. You can't find "the lesson and the blessing"
Ever have an argument replay in your head, against your will? Or unsavory characters taking up space in your life without paying rent?
If we complain about it out loud, often the unhelpful advice that comes back is, "Just let it go."
If only it were that easy.
In fact, sometimes there's a really good reason we can't let go of unpleasant details.
The limbic system of the brain sometimes remains activated long after a traumatic event, until we can make sense of that event using higher order functioning of the brain. This is the brain's way of protecting us from future upsets and dangers - if it can make sense from chaos, then it stops replaying the trauma.
In other words, we can't let go of that upsetting event until we can find a way to understand and integrate it.
Rewriting yourself takes you out of the center of the story. Well-researched methods support the notion of writing to make sense of loss or difficult events. Rewrite your way from disconnection to connection
5. You can't make decisions
Numb
6. You'd rather not
Depression
