<b>By Martha O’Regan</b>

My last article “It’s All Perfect, Just Not Always Pleasant” conjured up some interesting dialogue with folks who now see that everything happens for a reason and when life isn’t unfolding the way we think it should, it is time to shift our perspective and create a new story.  Life is truly just a story and can be re-created anytime we choose just by telling it from a different view point.

As a coach I hear many “someone done me wrong” songs or “you won’t believe what happened to me” stories. When people share their stories from their current perspective of fear, worry, anger or upset, it takes great restraint not to smile because what I hear is a story of freedom and new creation. For some, all it takes is offering a spark to create an awareness shift and they are off and running in a new direction, but for most that spark has to re-ignite several times before the flame stays lit long enough to shine the light on a new perspective.  Once that fire is burning bright, then I get to smile and laugh out loud with great joy as that individual gets to begin to live again in a brand new story.

Too many folks live in their “greatest blunder” story day in day out, believing that because of this, that or the other thing, they will never be, do or have a life that will amount to much.  So, they keep doing what they have always done, and thinking what they have always thought because it is familiar, even if it is miserable. Some even have the pleasure of having friends and family members constantly reminding them of the “great mistake of 1988” that if only they had done it differently, they wouldn’t be so angry or such a failure.

So, what if we can look back at each major turning point in our life and see why it happened for our growth and evolution then string them all together in a story that begins with “And then I created...” Could that childhood experience of neglect, abuse or feeling unloved actually be your catalyst for strength, courage, independence or compassion for others in a similar situation? Or, what if those “poor” choices made as a teenager or young adult that resulted in not going to college or becoming a parent too early were actually “good” choices because college or waiting to have a family was your parents’ desire, not yours? Instead you discovered other attributes you had to rely on to survive that still serve you today. When we can look back on our past with great gratitude for the many relationships created, life lessons learned, experiences survived, and all of our greatest attributes honed, then we can move forward with a stronger foundation than living each day just rearranging the misery.

Once we can change the story of the past, we can begin to create the life of our dreams with a single spark of desire for something different.

So, what is your heart’s desire? Write it down, think about it, listen to your language and shift it every time it deviates from your desired story.  Next, use your imagination to create your story both past and present.  Your brain doesn’t know the difference between what is real or what is imagined, so you can go back to any life experience and review it from a new, more empowered perspective and although it doesn’t change any facts, it will completely change the neural pathway where that story is stored while altering any negative physiology currently associated with the old story.

Next, open yourself to inspiration and the possibility for change by receiving new thoughts and ideas through songs, “random” conversations, magazine articles just “appear,” or thoughts that just come “out of nowhere.” And before you know it, you will laugh out loud as manifestation occurs “just like that.” It may look a little differently than you envisioned, but it will absolutely be in its divine perfection for you and your life experience.

Live Well ... Have Fun!
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