What’s Your Story?

A situation happens at work and your mind is spinning about it. So many different thoughts go through your head it makes you dizzy. Your mind keeps going round and round in a loop, repeating the same thing over and over. 

You try to stop but your brain keeps creating more and more thoughts about it. The more your mind thinks about it, the more stories it creates.

You’ve experienced this before, right?

Story versus facts

Do you know that the story your brain tells you are not the facts?

Facts are things that can be proven in a court of law, that everyone would agree with.

Your story is not the facts, it’s not the truth.

Why do you choose to believe everything your mind tells you?

Your life is created by your thoughts

There’s a difference between your thoughts and what actually happens in your life. Any given situation is neutral. It’s your thoughts about a situation that create your experience of it.

How would thinking more neutral about a situation at work benefit you? Rather than believing your own story about a situation, how can you be more intentional with your thoughts?

A big bag of rocks

I used to create a lot of drama about what other people thought about the work I was doing. I created a lot of story around being under-appreciated and undervalued.

I carried around this story for a long time, like a big bag of rocks. I’d take it to work with me in the morning, and drag it home with me at night.

It was exhausting and it didn’t get me anywhere. I made it so much harder on myself!

We often produce the exact opposite of the result we want by believing the stories our brains are creating.

Over time I realized that these thoughts were not the ones I wanted to live with, they were simply the stories my brain made up about the situation.

And these thoughts produced the opposite result I was looking for.

The more I thought this way, the less I appreciated myself and valued the work I was doing.

What do you make it mean about you?

Our brains are wired to tell stories and to make connections. It’s a natural tendency of our brains.

But what are you making the story in your head mean about you?

I was making my story mean that I wasn’t doing a good job because the people around me weren’t valuing me in the way I desired. Simply put, I wanted external validation. That’s a natural tendency too, we all want to be valued, but we need to value ourselves first and find our value within ourselves.

The good news is that you can better understand how your mind works and you can start choosing new thoughts to try-on.

I decided to drop the story about being undervalued and decided to feel proud of what I was doing no matter what. I realized I had the power to reclaim my self-confidence and to believe in myself. And the best part is it didn’t require me to change other people! Which you understand isn’t possible, right? 🙂

You have the power

Do you believe this?

Do you feel empowered about your work and your life?

If not, check-in with the stories you’re telling yourself, what are the thoughts going through your head?

With practice, you’ll be able to see your thoughts in real-time and you can learn to be more intentional with your thoughts.

It’s about living intentionally with your thoughts.

What we choose to believe is our truth.

Do you want help and guidance to feel more empowered about your work? How can you think more intentional thoughts to produce the results you really want in your life?

Author: Jamie Cavanaugh

Jamie Cavanaugh is a Certified Life Coach, Educator, Interaction Designer, and Writer.

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