Are You Crushing on Your Old Stories?

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If you’re crushing on your old stories, you are signing up for failure. Guess what happens to the things you feed, nurture, focus on and spend time with? They grow! By crushing on old stories, you’re strengthening your relationship with them. Ugh. If you keep doing this, you will drastically affect your future.

Portia was a successful business owner but she always told herself, “I’m not good with money.” She used that powerless story as an excuse to ignore the numbers in her business. She was constantly behind on important tasks like submitting her taxes and she procrastinated on getting her business structure set up, even though she knew it would protect her financial assets.

But one day, a friend called her out on the story she was telling. Her friend suggested that the old story was holding her back from greater success and increasing her stress. The friend knew it was Portia’s way of playing small and living in fear.

What’s Your Old Story?

Every day, people create stories about their lives. These are the stories we tell ourselves about who we are, where we came from, what our past means, and what we want in the future.

Maybe your story is that you’re a messy person. Believing that you’re messy means you shouldn’t be held responsible for keeping your space clean and organized. Or maybe your old story is, “I’m a hermit and I don’t like people. They make me crazy. This is just how I am.” I am just going to pause for a moment so you can think about how that story might affect you.

What Does your Old Story Do For You?

You can’t retire an old story until you understand why you have been holding onto it. For example, if you tell yourself you’re a hermit, you don’t have to step out of your comfort zone and get to know new people. This story lies and tells you that it’s a safe place to stay because you don’t have to risk letting other people get to know you.

Maybe your story helps you avoid responsibility. If you’re too disorganized to run a business, then you don’t have to take responsibility for turning your hobby into the business you’ve always dreamed of. Crushing on an old story means that it’s not your ‘fault’ that your dreams don’t come true.

What If You Decide to Let The Old Story Go?

Once you’ve identified an old story in your own life that is no longer serving you, ask yourself what would happen if you let it go. If you believed that you’re no longer a hermit, how would your life change?

That confidence would change the way you show up. Would you start reaching out to the people around you? Would you open yourself up to a network of friends that are eager to love and support you?

If you decide that you can become organized and run your own business, what would that look like? What if you were able to pay off your debts and quit that job you hate? How would it feel if you were able to send your kids to that private school you’ve always wanted them to attend?

Why New Stories Are Better Than Old Stories

Portia took her friend’s words to heart and started crafting a new story. In the new story she is great with numbers. She hired a bookkeeper to learn exactly how much she earns and pay her taxes on time. She even filed the paperwork for the corporate structure she needed.

Now, Portia doesn’t feel stressed about numbers. And, after removing that stress, she magically found the time to create more products for the community she loves serving.

Letting go of old stories sets you free. It gives you a higher level of energy and enables you to see the world in a new way. It also helps you create space for more of what you want in your life.

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