There are all kinds of stories we tell ourselves. Stories about why we could never have what we really want, stories about how we aren’t quite good enough, how we don’t fit in, or never do enough. These old stories become so ingrained we forget what they really are, a lie we’ve told ourselves over and over again. The stories we have built our lives on are just that, a made up or misinterpreted account of who we think we are. The good news is the stories we’ve written can be rewritten at any time.

Somehow the stories we’ve invented become a truth we believe. Sometimes so wholeheartedly we forget what we were like and what our lives were like before we began telling that story. Most likely the the story was invented for a reason or to fill a certain need at a particular time. A reason or need that is probably long gone but somehow the story remains. Now it’s time for a revision.

In order to get to something new, perhaps a narrative that is closer to our current truth, we have to be able to see through our old story. It may sound easy but it is some of the most painstaking work we will ever do. Seeing through our story comes after we are brave enough to stare down our demons and right before we slay the dragon. It’s the work of transformation and reinvention and it takes us digging deep and seeing past the labels and projections and old ideas that we’ve let define or hold us back. It’s about being able to clearly see who we really are and what really matters.

Another slick sentence that can’t quite capture the soul searching that goes on in order to be able to see our truth. There is terror, anguish, and fear covering it up. It is a daunting task to face the very things we think are too much, the things we think might kill us. In truth the old stories and outmoded parts of ourselves must die. These old stories need to be undone because they mask our true sense of self and all we’re capable of.

These two realities, what was and what will be, cannot exist side by side, one has to go so the other can be lived. But in facing our deepest fears we we end up freeing ourselves. It’s what opens us up and lets us see the truth of who we are with more honesty and more compassion.

The old stories we tell ourselves are just a made-up tale we can rewrite any time we come into contact with our authentic self. It’s time to take a closer look and begin telling the truth of who we really are.

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