Destiny Or Choice?
Everyone has a story to tell!
We all have access to one real story with all the details and a full range of emotions - it's our own personal story.
It takes courage to feel & listen to ourselves because it can create powerful emotions. Our interpretation of our feelings impact if & how we want to react, leading to our next steps which then shape our narrative. At any given moment, we make choices and that is something we all have to do either actively or passively.
When I was a child, I loved my father’s stories. They were unconventional and many considered them inconsequential, with no real meaning. To this date I have never heard any of his stories from anyone else nor read them anywhere.
His stories were not romantic, neither were they predictable. They made me laugh, and were definitely not the type that would put a child to sleep, but when he did finish and I did finally fall asleep, I slept with a smile on my face.
They were funny stories about two friends who traveled and overcame obstacles. Sometimes, they were aligned. Other times they wanted the same thing and competed. Occasionally one disappointed the other and it was sad. Yet, every story began with them reaching out to each other and deciding together that they wanted to have an adventure. They were hungry for life! They were curious!
There was one particular story that I very much enjoyed, where the two friends who came from poor families had heard the princess was in town and they simply wanted to see her. But, it became apparent that they had to pay a substantial amount of money just to get a glimpse of her beautiful face. One of the two friends was always more strategic and was often leading in the stories.
I recall laughing so much when my father recounted how these two friends decided to play the fool in order to get the princess to come down and enliven their humdrum existence. Try as they may, they seemed incapable of thinking of a way to attract her attention. In the end, not only did they get to see her for free, but they also got to go to the castle, wine & dine with her and were even welcomed to stay the night as her guests.
I asked my dad to tell me the same story the next time he had time on his hands. To my surprise, he couldn't remember the details, and told me a secret: “I make them up dear. I improvise! If you want, you too can choose and shape the narrative!”
I recall being both excited and disappointed. On one hand, I liked the idea of creating the narrative and sending the two friends on new adventures of my liking. On the other hand, I had loved that very particular story and wanted to re-hear it exactly the same. But my dad insisted that in life no two stories are ever 100% the same. That's what adults call “reality”.
What I learnt from all this was that I was empowered to change the narrative. Sometimes I took a new road and came up with a brand new story in new places and even with new characters.
Select a personal story and evaluate how alternative choices might have led to different outcomes.
Fast Forward to 5 years ahead:
What outcome would you want?
Which action would you take or avoid to obtain your most desired future?
What do you imagine your loved ones around you would notice to be different about you?
“Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice”-Ayn Rand
