One topic I would like to write about today is the idea of making up stories. We make up stories all the time. We have stories about ourselves, about other people, and even about the world–and the way that the world works. The best way to become more successful in life and in business is to Get Over Your Old Stories.
What is interesting about our brain is that the thoughts that we have and repeat over and over become our truth. What I mean by this is that if I have a belief like “I have a bad back”, and I tell that story to myself and to others again and again, that thought pattern becomes predominant. Since the brain works in pathways, and the more we repeat the pathway, the stronger the belief or story becomes, the easier it is for us to follow that path. Our story, whether fiction or fact, becomes very real to us.
Very real indeed.
Old Stories
The truth is that our Old Stories are holding us back. They are an old belief system that gave us the results that we are seeing now. And, if we want to learn, grow, and reach new levels of achievement, we must begin to see them for exactly what they are:
Old Stories that got us Old Results
These ideas or ideals were also based on:
Old Perceptions – what we believed at one time when we had a limited amount of information to base our story on.
Old Values – which supported our old needs and desires.
Past Experiences – that we have probably learned from, grown from, and can move forward with a new outlook on life.
An Old Story of Mine
Not too long ago, this was an old story of mine, it went something like this:
“I have a really bad back. I was walking my dogs (two labs that weighed about 150 lbs together) down a path just across from my house. We lived across the street from a couple of buffaloes, and finding that quite funny, I would amuse myself by walking the dogs past them. They were surrounded by a big electrical fence, so I thought nothing of the danger of being there.
Well, apparently the dogs had never noticed that there were buffalo there before! Just then, the wind blew, and my dogs took of at a 90 degree angle straight towards the electrical fence. I had them on leash, and when I countered the pull, my back made an enormous crack and pain shot through my entire body.
It took me about a month to get back to normal, and almost a year of chiropractic appointments. I’m now really careful about what I do because I don’t want that to happen again.”
My New Story
After some of the mental training that I’ve observed and read about, I decided to implement a new philosophy about my back. I’m tired of having this Old Story hold me back, even if it was true for me at one time. The new truth is that I am an athlete, and an adventurer, and I like to be strong and push my body to new heights. So, rather than reconditioning myself with my Old Story, I’ve been very focused lately on the New One. And, just as a side note, this new story has allowed me to get very excited about achieving new goals that I had previously ruled out of my life.
Here is my New Story:
I love to climb. I’ve always excelled at it when I have allowed myself to train consistently for it. Truthfully, I’ve always been an athlete. I really enjoy several outdoor adventure sports, and climbing is my favorite one of all of them. I am now training to go to several climbing destinations around the world. I have a lot of friends that are climbers and are in the best shape of their life. This year, I am training to be in the best shape of my life.
Looking at the Experts for Inspiration
One of the things I’m doing to get past old stories is to look at the experts for some motivation. I’m watching videos of top climbers, and reading their stories of physical and mental conditioning. Many of them have recovered from major injuries and act as a huge inspiration for people that have overcome difficulties and broken world records in their sport. On one of the videos, I was particularly struck by a climber with a specific trick. He absolutely refuses to give up. He goes into it, gives it his all, and fails, again, and again, and again, and he gets up the next day, and tries it again–wholeheartedly.
I decided to try this on my recent climbing day, and it absolutely worked. Normally, I would give something a go, fall, and try a few more times, then come down. This time, I just absolutely refused to give up. And, something interesting happened. I made it to the top of all of the routes. I’ve never finished them before, and then, just because I changed my Old Story, and got focused on the New Story, I was able to accomplish something I’d never done before.
The exciting part about this is that I’m just at the beginning of my training! I can’t wait to see what happens when I can consistently embrace this new philosophy.
So, how can you Get Over Your Old Stories that are holding you back?
What is a New Story that moves you forward and gets you excited about life?
Who can you look to for inspiration, advice, and insight?
If you need help in this area, that is What Coaches are For. Check out my Online Course that teaches you how to Change Your Behaviors to Get Better Results!
