One of my favorite quotes is, “Change your story, change your life.” So simple and yet so powerful if you really understand the principle.
If you’ve been a subscriber to our Monday Morning Stretch for any length of time, you know that one of the foundational beliefs at LionSpeak is that we create our reality. Neutral events happen around us, to us, and by us. We interpret and react to them based on our current (often limiting) beliefs. And then, there is an outcome.
If we’re happy with the outcome, then all is in alignment with our circumstances, beliefs, and actions. However, if we’re not satisfied with the outcomes and we cannot change the circumstances, then our only lever is to challenge our beliefs and interpretations and then change or adjust our actions or reactions.
Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? And in many ways, it is. But, when the beliefs are long-standing and have served us in the past or are deeply embedded into the identity we hold of ourselves, it can be challenging to suddenly believe something different and change the way we react. But, this is where the payoff is the biggest.
In December, I’ll be sharing some tips and tools which I have used with great success to challenge my current beliefs and craft new stories about who I am and what I’m capable of so that my current reality yields better results for my life and work.
The first one is called the “What’s Different Now?” game. Here’s how it works…
When someone external to me or even my own internal voice (I call her “little me”) says things to me like:
“You’ve tried that before.”
“You’ve said that before.”
“That hasn’t worked for you in the past.”
“You don’t have enough ___________ (time, money, influence, followers, etc).”
“You have too many control issues. You’re too much of a perfectionist.”
“You’ve never been that disciplined.”
“Your clients will never pay that much.”
“People have already tried this (or done this).”
I could go on, but you get the idea. Just fill in your own limiting “little me” voice tracks and/or conjure up the things that (often very well meaning) others have said to you in the past… because we all have them. And instead of simply accepting these limiting beliefs that, for me, create feelings of defeat, lack, disempowerment, and self-doubt… now, play a new game with them. Play the game of responding with:
“That may be true but what’s different now is… “
or
“Up until now, that may have been my pattern, but here’s what’s different for me recently… “
Change your story, change your life… or at least enjoy the change in your current interpretations and potentially your outcomes.
Our brains respond differently to the idea that something has changed in us for the better and that our chances of success have somehow been increased. I find my confidence is elevated when I don’t negate or argue with the past (or someone’s version of my past) but simply acknowledge that while that may or may not have been true… there is a valid reason why I can now believe that my results will be different. A new lens gives me a new picture, and I’m speaking a new reality into existence.
This week, try the “What’s Different Now?” game with yourself first and then by helping others when you hear them telling themselves an old, limiting story. It’s helpful to ask them, “That may have been true for you in the past, but what might be different now that could create a better result for you?”
It’s powerful stuff to tell a new story. It busts myths. It crushes old, outdated, limiting beliefs. It opens up possibility. It changes lives.
“You have to tell the story the way you want it to be. Everything that you are living is in response to the story that you are telling – period.”
~ Abraham Hicks
