How often do you tell yourself “old stories” – those messages we give ourselves which usually begin like:
“I can’t do that …”
“That never works for me because …”
“If I do that, then …”
“That will make me feel …”
Such stories most often project negative outcomes. To avoid the undesirable result, we avoid the action.
One of my most overused “old stories” is around evening commitments. When I face multiple evening commitments in a row, my story is “If I do all of these, I’ll be tired, won’t have enough down time, get overwhelmed, …” That old story could keep me from time with friends, activities which will be entertaining, and just maybe some really good times! What if they energized me? What if I learned that I need less down time? What if they opened my eyes to new possibilities?
What old story are you rehashing?
In what ways are you limiting yourself?
What rewrite is possible?