By: Tamara Dodgson
When it comes to creating your own personal story, it really is true that knowledge is power
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Have you ever noticed how quickly your attitude can change when you suddenly find yourself seeing something in a whole new way? How is it that everything can change for us in a heartbeat once we have a new perspective? Could it be that our vision has been blocked by our own ignorance?
Knowledge is power
When it comes to creating your own personal story, it really is true that knowledge is power. Any time we choose to give ownership of our circumstances over to someone else, (usually through blaming or fault finding), what we are actually doing is giving that power away to something or someone outside of ourselves. In this scenario, we had no power then, so we mustn’t have any power now. The problem with that mentality is that it usually leaves us stuck, frustrated, bitter, angry and depressed.
Your personal story is much like your signature – it is totally unique to you. In the same way that your own hand controls the ink on the page, your mind controls the meaning that you give to your experiences. Whether you’ve been aware of it or not, that meaning is now and has always been creating your current reality. Isn’t it amazing that we’re taught to consciously practice writing our signatures consistently as children, but we’re seldom ever taught to consciously practice writing our own personal story?
It’s important for all of us to recognize, acknowledge and reconcile with things that have happened to us in our lives, but it’s equally as important for us to take ownership of the meaning that we give to those experiences.
After all, if we are fortunate enough to have been given the ability to choose our own thoughts, then wouldn’t it seem rather foolish of us not to utilize that ability to create stories that empower and inspire us in some way?
Victimhood
Victimhood can be a powerful ally and friend. It can provide us with comfort and protection and it’s always there for us to depend on when we need it. It also gives us a sense of significance when we feel insignificant, and it can help us change our emotional state because being angry towards someone else is much more powerful and helpful than being frustrated and hopeless within ourselves. The problem with all of those benefits, however, is that they are all very short term and ultimately lead us right back to where we started from. It is a constant loop of futility and desperation.
Positive lasting change can only come from taking ownership over your own personal story and life. Anything that does not serve you in a positive way over the long term, you have the ability to change.
When you choose to take responsibility for everything in your life, everything in your life will begin to shift. In the same way you have to exercise your muscles in order to make them strong, you have to exercise your power in order to feel powerful. Your personal story is yours, and yours alone.
When you change your story, you will inevitably change your life.