Write a new story

This post is dedicated to Kevin, my favorite screenwriter.

In a previous post, I suggested to tell a new story if you want to create a new reality. Looking back, that recommendation may have been premature.  Your old story, the story of your life, the story you like telling people is programmed in you and it rolls off your tongue like butter. That story may have gotten you rave reviews, sympathy, laughter. But it has not gotten you a new life. By telling the same old story–about your hardships, struggles, lack of money, pain in the a** spouse, kids who never listen–you will continue to get hardships, struggles, lack of money, pain in the a** spouse, kids who never listen. That is how the Law of Attraction works. It is a boomerang; it keeps giving you what you think and talk about. If your life isn’t what you want it to be, don’t think this is As Good As it Gets!

So, how do we get what we want? How do we tell a new story? First, write a new story. Pretend you are a screenwriter. You are given an assignment: write the story of your life from this day forward. There is one requirement; it has to be a block buster! Get your black Moleskine notebook and your favorite gel pen. Use your imagination. Write the story exactly how you want it to turn out. It’s a Wonderful Life! Start creating it! Who are the main characters? Instead of the pain in the a** spouse, you can create the spouse who is attentive and easy to live with; create the story of how much fun you are having together.  You are holding hands running in the rain and laughing so hard that your sides are splitting and you have to stop to catch your breath. Then feel the sweetness of the relationship you are writing about.  Next, where is the story set? What happens to the hero/heroine (you)? What kind of vacations do they take? What impact on their world do they make? Make it juicy. Make it a real feel-good plot, the kind everyone likes to go see, even if only women will admit to it! Have fun with it Tootsie!

Then, start sharing your story. Go out and market it. Shout if from the roof tops! When I find it difficult to tell the story I am deliberately creating, since it may not have manifested yet, I tell people about the life I am creating. For example, my old story about money was that I have many loans, and many financial burdens and I will probably have to work until I am 80 years old. My new story is that I am in the process of becoming financially independent and plan on retiring in 10 years.  Now, in order to tell my new story, I have to embrace the fact that I am worthy to have financial freedom and an early retirement. (Mind you, if I retire in 10 years it means that I will have been gainfully employed for 50 years so it is not necessarily bragging to say I plan to retire in 10 years. Haha! Notice how I had to get that in. I am still a work in progress. Never believe I have this stuff all under control myself!)

So many of us have been raised to tell the sad story, the story of struggle. When you go to the movies, do you want to be depressed or uplifted? We like stories of struggle only if the struggle is overcome. We all have struggles.  One of my favorite movies that I have watched a few times is Finding Nemo. Talk about struggles. He is born with a short right fin. He had a neurotic father and then he gets taken away from his home (fishnapped). What makes his story so good? Courage, love, adventure, friendship, and being of service to others. This is the stuff dreams are made of. This is what makes lives rich. Write the story about how the struggle was overcome. What is the happy ending?

Even in the fairy tales we loved that we grew up with, there were not only the happy endings; we also saw much struggle. Cinderella did not have it so easy with those step-sisters. Is there anyone who liked those girls? I don’t think so. And when she was locked up in that room  by those evil siblings at the same time the prince was searching for the girl who would fit in the slipper, weren’t we all at the edge of our seats praying for her to get out? Thank God for those mice! But we loved that movie in the end because love conquered. Love will always conquer. Make sure your script is laced with love.  It may have struggle–the struggle we are dealing with now–but you have the power to change the story. The Universe is filled with helpers just like the mice who were there for Cinderella. Just write them into the script. Don’t be afraid to admit you need help. We all do. It doesn’t make us weak, it just makes us human.

So, get to work. Start writing. Writing is very powerful. There is something that happens to us when we write. We shift. We change the programming. The deadline for this assignment is up to you. How happy do you want to be? Come on, don’t let your Academy Award-winning life wait for you to get motivated; yes I am talking to you Pretty Woman. Don’t act like this isn’t important, yes you, in The Pursuit of Happiness! Don’t let your life be another Ground Hog Day, living the bad day over and over. Even Bill Murray finally got it right but you don’t have to wait as long as he did. You can decide when enough is enough!