What Story Are You Living In?
June 4, 2010
oh jeez, not this again!
What are the things that keep happening in your life that you think, “Oh jeez why is this happening again?”
Think about it.
These are the story you are living in. This is a bit tricky though because the story we are living is feels just like life itself. But it’s not.
You have no idea you’re living inside of a movie that you can change. But you can.
Like a fish in a fishbowl, we don’t even recognize the story we are living in – a life story that is a paradigm composed of your beliefs, feelings and view of the world.
Whew, that’s big stuff!
Yep the life story is an important one to see but it can be very difficult to discern it. Imagine a fish looking out through the glass of the fishbowl. It doesn’t even see the glass right?
fishy story
No, it doesn’t. And thus it’s nearly impossible for us to see our own life story, even thought it’s wrapped all around us all the time. We just think that it’s the way things are.
But think about this – if that’s just the way things are, why don’t those same exact things keep happening to someone else? Hmm, that’s a good question.
Maybe it’s because those life stories are not part of that other person’s movie. They are just part of ours. Makes you think doesn’t it?
So how do you find out what fishbowl you’re living in? Well let’s take a look from the outside.
Ask yourself these three questions:
- what kinds of experiences do I keep repeating that I think that’s just the way life is?
- what theme do I complain about a lot?
- what area of my life do I consistently wish was different?
These questions can be clues into the fishbowl that you’re living in. Another experiment, a little more risky, is to actually ask the people in your life what they think your story line is.
peer into the fishbowl
I’m talking about the pitiful one though, not the storyline that makes you look amazing. I did this with my sister once and it was actually very life-changing but you’ve got to be ready to have others peering into your fishbowl.
You’re not looking for nice compliments, you’re looking for what can change how you live. You want to detect the story is that you’re living that you don’t even think is a story!
Get the idea? Try it out and see what can change.
Only fish need to live in fishbowls. And as far as I know, we’re not fish anymore. We’re the directors and creators of our own stories.
Wonderful Will’s Wisdom
January 18, 2010
I love this video. Will Smith is a fabulous communicator with a genuine and burning desire to change the world. Plus he’s a local Philly boy. What’s not to love about that!
Featured Video: Think Differently
October 26, 2009
Here’s to the the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the trouble makers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones that see things differently. This video is an inspiring tribute to those who dare to do things differently. “Those that think they are crazy enough to change the world, are the ones who do!”
How Stories Change the World
May 29, 2009
- Plus Ultra – there’s more beyond
If you want to know how stories truly change the world, read this:
Plus Ultra – “There’s More Beyond”
Plus ultra is Latin for further beyond or more beyond. It is the national motto of Spain, adopted from the personal motto of Charles V of Spain.
The origin of the motto is closely associated with the Pillars of Hercules, which according to Roman mythology were built by Hercules, near the Straits of Gibraltar, which marked the edge of the known world. According to mythology the pillars bore the warning “Non plus ultra, ” – nothing further beyond, serving as a warning to sailors and navigators to go no further.
It is believed that the young Charles V adopted Plus ultra as his motto at the suggestion of his doctor and personal advisor Luigi Marliano. The idea was to encourage him to ignore the ancient warning and encourage him to take risks and go further beyond.
The motto was used to encourage Spanish explorers to go beyond the Pillars of Hercules and on to the New World.
Annie’s comments: I love this story because it shows us how stories literally create the ground we stand on. Often when I say that stories change the world, I imagine that some people are thinking, “Oh there she goes again with her big thinking about the world.”
But it’s true.
Stories literally change our reality and thus change our future. If the King of Spain hadn’t been advised by his wise Italian doctor (of course he was Italian!), then we might not be here today. Because the Pillars of Hercules were thought to be the end of the known world, this one statement that there’s more beyond, literally opened up King Charles thinking and thus opened the gates to the new world.
Before this time, people literally believed and told the story that there was no more beyond. Lucky for us he took the risk and changed the story!
How does this play out in our own lives? Where are we believing in what the world tells us about reality? Do we believe everything the news tells us for example?
I used this story to inspired a group of business people several months ago and asked them this question – “Do you want to stop yourselves at the edge of the known world (meaning just what the media tells us for example), or do you want to go beyond and create a new reality?
Without this story, it would have been hard, if not impossible to impress upon them the power of our thinking to create our reality.
Is this just positive thinking or is it actually how we shape our future? You decide. Try it for yourself. Take on this motto for a day and see what happens to your reality.
Every time you find something that you think can’t be done, just pretend that you’re at the edge of your known world, at your own personal Pillars of Hercules. Then say to yourself, “there’s more beyond.” Or if you like to sound fancy, feel free to bandy about the phrase “Plus Ultra”. It definitely sounds like you’re in the know.
I’m thankful for all of the stories that have shaped our world, and allow me to sail new seas everyday.
Who knows what new seas you might sail into. Let me know what happens.
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