Getting ourselves unstuck from a story.

Have you found yourself stuck in a roundabout in your own head? A cul de sac of thoughts? A hamster wheel?

I experience this myself…..and sometimes the volume of those stories in that loop-de-loop place can be LOUD. It can be challenging to figure out how to move beyond a repeated story and to a new place.

I observe that this can happen for us at times of unexpected change or forced transitions - we hold white-knuckled to a story that once served us but that we have outgrown or it has become outdated for the times. This can be outdated belief systems or former priorities that do not align with where we are today or where we see ourselves going.

A practice I have cultivated to help myself in managing these “sticky stories” is detailed on the Sticky Story worksheet downloadable at the Show Up Hard website.

What is a story that no longer serves? A story that is sticky, old, tired?

What are the clues that the story no longer fits? What is uncomfortable?

What is the new true story? What is next? What do I desire?

I will print this worksheet and work through the prompts. Sometimes I don’t rush it. I may even ask trusted friends or colleagues for advice. I am honest with myself about what is annoying or uncomfortable - the signs that something is no longer fitting just right.

For particularly big stories I want to let go - often a story that has served me for years or decades that no longer rings true - I will create a ritual and tear off the top two questions on the page and burn it. I’ll then post whatever details that are emerging about the new true story on my bulletin board or keep it on my bedside table so I can interrupt the repeated narrative with new fodder for the new space I am emerging into.

What is old, tired, and no longer true for you? What is the new story you are creating for yourself?

#ShowUpHard

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