The Current Situation: Setting the Stage for Your Story

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In my last newsletter, we introduced Character: The First Element of Storytelling. Once you have established character (who you are, who you want to be, and what role you play), it’s time to shift your focus to the current situation, or given circumstances.?

This is where we find our characters, living in the ordinary world. In Harry Potter, each book begins with Harry living with his uncle and aunt in the world of ordinary people, where he is treated poorly, before he is transported toward the magical world at Hogwarts, where his life is filled with adventures.

The ordinary world, or your current life situation, is filled with challenges, no matter how successful, healthy, or wealthy you are.?

When I lead people through this activity, I often hear them talking about things that happened many years ago, such as, “my current challenge is that I got divorced 10 years ago…” or “I was picked on in school 20 years ago…” or “Since the age of 10, I have always had a problem with…”

This is your old story! This does not help you to create a compelling, motivational vision that will guide you to a greater future or a lifted mindset right now.?

Imagine you were to phone someone and ask for directions to New York City.?

“Where are you now?” they ask.

“Well, 10 years ago, I was in London,” you respond.

“Yes, but where are you now?” they repeat.

“Well, last week I was in San Diego,” you say.

“That’s nice,” they reply. “But where are you now?”

“Oh, now I’m in Hoboken, New Jersey.”

It is only at that point that they can direct you to NJ transit, which you can take directly into Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan!

The past information that you gave the other person isn’t helpful in this situation. The same goes for your story. If you say, “I’m Bob. I was fired 5 years ago and got picked on at school 20 years ago,” your mind will begin the day by trying to fight battles that don’t exist anymore. You may find yourself going in circles in life, feeling a lack of direction, or stuck in a rut. Your brain cannot give you directions to New York City from Hoboken, NJ, if you keep telling yourself that you’re stuck in London.

You need to give yourself total clarity on who you are, where you are right now, and where you want to go.?

We do this by writing a Vision Story.?

Write down your answers to the following:

The current challenges in my life are ________________________________________.

The impact this is having on my life is ________________________________________.

Maybe everything in your life is currently going well, but you are aware that people around you are in pain, or there are greater issues happening in the world that you’re concerned about. This is when you can add this section to your story:

The current challenges I notice for other people and the world are ________________________________________.

Next, you need to increase the intensity of this story by thinking about what could happen if your challenges continue:

Ultimately, if nothing changes, these challenges could get much worse, because eventually this may lead to: ________________________________________.

I must make sure this negative future never happens because: ________________________________________.

Defining your current situation is the only way to learn what needs to change in order to reach your ideal future, or the story that you create for your life. Did you write it down? See what you notice once you have filled out your answers. Do you feel more aware of the problems, concerns, or issues at stake in your life? Are you more motivated to do something about this? I love to hear from you. Let me know what you think!

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