It’s time to change your story
My favorite quote of all time comes from the best-selling memoir, Wild, written by Cheryl Strayed: “fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story.” This quote can be applied to almost any struggle I am currently facing: rejection, heartbreak, anxiety, etc. The idea is that you tell yourself a different story and write a happy ending with yourself as the resilient protagonist. This is easier said than done. It takes practice. For years I let outside forces control my view of the world and even of myself. I let circumstances and even other people write my story for me. But, I realized, we have control over our own personal story. Like Cheryl Strayed, we can tell ourselves a different story about ourselves and our life. We can tell ourselves that fear, heartbreak, and anxiety are only temporary evils in a life filled with resiliency and love. Every life and every story is beautiful in its flawed way, and yours is entirely in your control, so go write an amazing one.
I think we forget how much power we have as human beings. When struggling with life’s obstacles, I tend to feel hopeless, lost, unsupported, alone. I tell myself these things and ultimately believe them. Often times though, I forget that I have family and friends who adore me. There are professionally trained counselors who devote their lives to helping people. I have platforms like this that remind me that I am not alone in my fight. I encourage you, to tell yourself this. Remind yourself that no fight has to be fought alone.
It seems too easy to believe that we can choose our own thoughts, but this is one of the best gifts in being human; we each have a powerful mind capable of amazing things. We are powerful. No matter how cliché it seems, we do possess the power to change your thoughts and ultimately your circumstances. It isn’t easy, I know. But we are insanely more powerful than we realize.
When I struggle with anxiety, fear or worry it can be paralyzing. But I choose to remember all the good and love in my life. No matter how hard things can be, I have certain things and people in my life that will be there for me one-hundred percent of the time. When I have a bad day or succumb to irrational anxiety, I change the narrative I’m telling myself. I choose to tell myself that my story is filled with love, acceptance, and resiliency.
You can change your story. Tell yourself you are loved (because you are), tell yourself that things will turn out okay (because they always do), and that it’s not as bad as it seems (it never is). Tell yourself that things will get better. Life can teach you how to live it the longer you live. Change your story—make it a story of love and hope. You have the power to.
Love, Connor, a UF student
