Your personal stories

The most watched genre on television are sport, soap operas and reality television. Reality television has exploded in recent years. Have you ever wondered why this is the case? Professional sport have a cult-like following. Have you wondered why we are attracted to sportspeople who become our heroes? You see it’s not about them, it’s about us. The people in soap operas experiencing their dramas and difficulty appear vulnerable to us and at a personal level we connect to that vulnerability. People on competitive reality shows and professional sportspeople are putting themselves on the line. Anything can happen to them and a professional athlete’s career may come to an end in seconds. To perform in front of others one has to overcome one’s fears. Performers are not hiding behind their fears, they work through them. They go for their dreams. Deep down inside we want to be like them and thus we connect with them at a personal level.
Your personal stories are the most valuable inspirational stories that can transform your life. If your personal story has not transformed your life then you are underestimating your story. We have a local newspaper aptly called “The Post”. Every week the newspaper will publish a few agonizing stories. My mum would read these stories and make sure that she conveys it to anybody who would listen. I advised her not to read these emotionally painful articles. My mum could not explain why she was attracted to these stories. When I pondered upon it I realized that she connected with the people that were suffering. My mum felt their pain and it felt real. When I tell my mum that she also had been through a lot of drama in her life, she’d agree but would say things like, “but that lady lost her husband and sons in a shooting incident”. Most of us do this. We minimize our personal stories. I love hearing people’s personal stories. Everyone has at least one story that can inspire others. Yet when I tell them that, they may say something like, “ah no way that story will make an impact on other people. Anyway, I’m not famous so who will listen to me?”. Because they believe that they are nobody they assume their story will not matter and because they believe their story does not matter they replay the story in a way that keeps them in a victim mentality. They will relate their story looking for sympathy.
If you want to take your life to another level, make a list of stories that are vivid in your memory. Now, cast your mind back to the one that you were at your lowest. Imagine how different your life would be now if at that low moment you had said, “Enough! I will not tolerate myself feeling this way. I am going to do whatever it takes to transform my life”.
Here’s the thing, it’s not too late. Your mind cannot tell the difference between what you are currently experiencing and what you are imagining. Right now recall any negative or painful incident or incidents that have occurred in your life. Remember the detail and feel the pain. Tell yourself “Enough! I will not tolerate myself feeling this way. I am going to do whatever it takes to transform my life”. When you transform your life your personal story becomes an inspirational story.