|15 |
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some
passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. Maya Angelou
I am a great admirer of Maya Angelou. Her writing is strong and her words leap off the
page to grab your attention. At the same time, she was not afraid to show us her
vulnerability. Not content to survive, she challenges us to thrive despite whatever life
puts in our path. I’m sure you can think of some obstacle life has presented you with
which you would much rather not have to deal with. It might be you had to change
residences and that move caused some distress. Maybe the move was because you lost
of a job. Perhaps you experienced the loss of a loved one. You, or someone close to you,
were diagnosed with a catastrophic illness. These situations at the onset certainly are
the stuff of those stories that cause heartbreak and tears. However, getting through
those stories to a happily ever after is entirely up to you. You alone have the power to
rewrite your story.
Wondering how I could make such a blanket statement about rewriting your story?
I’ve had my own survive to thrive stories. The major stressors in life are loss of a job
,major move, catastrophic illness, loss of a loved
one and divorce. Except for the divorce part,
I’ve experienced all of those life events at least
twice. And when you consider that I’ve been
married since 1972, we’ve danced around the
“D” word, but always managed to find our way
back to each other. By the way, I’m deliriously
happy with this man today.
Twice the companies my husband was working
for decided to close their doors which resulted
in us making significant moves across the
country. Uprooting us away from family and
friends gave me the choice and the opportunity
to reinvent myself. Losing loved ones, especially
grieving the loss of my mother only a year ago,
shines a new light on my role in the world as a
woman of influence as a motherless child,
daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend.
Diagnosed with breast cancer twice has found
me digging deep to discover how resilient I
truly am and to find the confidence to destiny
I firmly believe that we all have a story to tell that no one else can tell because it is ours alone to tell from our unique perspective. And if we do not share that story, those we are meant to influence will not have the quality of life they were designed to have.
Yes, I can hear your inner critic shouting right about now. Who does she think she is? You have a story somebody wants to hear? Hogwash!
The truth is no matter how ordinary we think the details of our story are, those details are extraordinary because they are part of your story. Just as no two snowflakes are alike, our stories are all unique to us. Who would have thought that a farm girl from Minnesota would be living on the California coast and sharing the terror of facing the blank page in the day-to-day life of a writer. All the while inspiring others with her 30-years of experience as a journalist to weave the thread of their individual story and connect into the tapestry of the universal story.
Now comes the part that your inner critic challenges: And what are those details? How does anyone know what story to tell?
That is an excellent question. Here’s my suggestion: you start your day writing in a journal for about fifteen minutes and have a conversation on paper with your sub-conscious (or your soul). I call this creating a Writing Practice. Just the way you would have an exercise routine or a yoga practice, you can design a writing practice for yourself. When you show up on the page consistently, your subconscious can tell you all sorts of things that have been longing to come to the surface. Everything I have done personally and professional has started in my journal.
Oh, and how to decide which of your stories is the one the world is waiting to hear? Think about times in your life where something has changed dramatically. For example, those major stressors I listed above. Has anything like that happened to you? When I told you all of them had occurred to me, I gave you examples of what it meant in my life. I’ve been keeping a journal since I was 11-years-old and hiding it from my brother. Writing has always been a coping strategy for me. It can be for you. It can offer a way for you to review where you are, dream about where you want to go, and create a plan on how you will get there. Your personal design on how to move from survive to thrive.
Designed to Thrive
RHG Magazine & TV Guide TM - Spring 2019 © All rights reserved.