Heroes of our Story

But if, instead, we identify ourselves as the heroes of our story, we can accept the possibility that wherever there is quicksand or pitfall or Nazful, there is also some way to get past it. Just telling ourselves that there is a way past it allows us to begin looking for that way instead of giving up. Our sense of our own power actually adds to our strength, our ingenuity, our adaptability.

For those who enjoy computer games, a game metaphor may be useful. It's clear that no matter what the character on screen must face, there is always a tool or weapon available somewhere in the world of the game, if the player can figure out what it is and how to acquire it (and he can because that's the whole point of the game!) that will allow the character to go on.

It isn't only the story we tell ourselves in the middle of a difficult experience that counts. There's also the story we tell ourselves afterwards. When something painful has happened, the person who says, "I was a hero in this situation, and because I was- and am - a hero, it id not defeat me," will have a far better chance of healing whatever wounds she might have received and moving on, than someone who tells herself, "This unfair and awful thing happened and no matter what I do things like that will go on happening to me all the rest of my life, because that's the way the world is."

Change your Story, Change your Life, Stephanie Tolan

Downloadable at:

http://www.storyhealer.com/book.html