In The No Complaining Rule book we offer an assessment and one of the questions is “If my life was made into a movie I would characterize it as a: A) Drama B) Love Story C) Comedy D) Inspirational Tale.”
I thought it was an important question because we don’t live our lives based on reality but rather by our perception of reality. And this perception is influenced by the story we tell ourselves and the story that defines our life.
Every one of us is playing a part in a story. What role are you playing? Victim? Hero? Fighter? Lover? Soap Opera Star? Underdog? Overcomer?
Do you want to change your life? Change your story. Just as a director of a movie utilizes different perspectives and camera angles and colors to create a look and feel of a movie, you can redefine your life with a new perspective, new thoughts, new beliefs, and new actions that will change everything.
Right now there are a lot of people believing in a story of fear and destruction. They are broadcasting a horror story over the airwaves directly to you in the comfort of your own home. Others are sharing the horror story at work, at conferences, meetings, in the grocery story, at school and at community events. Believe this story and soon enough you will be playing the lead role in the horror film.
I want to encourage you make a different choice. Don’t believe this story. Stop tuning in. Change the dial. Hit the pause button. Then tune into a different story. Tune into a story of hope, faith, optimism, and trust. The world is filled with books (including the best selling book of all time) and stories of people that have overcome hardships, adversity negativity, and challenging times. Choose to believe in these positive stories. Choose to see yourself as a modern day “Lion Chaser” as my friend Mark Batterson writes in In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day. Mark says that Lion Chasers don’t run from fear. They face it. They don’t hide from their challenges. Rather they realize that within these challenges are some of life’s greatest opportunities.
Every great story, whether fiction or non-fiction, is filled with conflict and adversity. And every hero must overcome this conflict and adversity to define themselves and their success. Heroes can’t control what the bad guys do or the bad events that they create but they can control how they respond to these events. Sure heroes get down. They get beat up. They lose hope at times. But ultimately heroes believe that good news is coming. From the jaws of defeat and despair they come back stronger and more positive than ever. They believe in themselves and in something bigger than themselves. And most of all they inspire others to believe in themselves and a positive outcome. This doesn’t just happen in the movies. It happens in the real world every day – in businesses, in schools, in hospitals, in churches, in homes, and in our communities.
Life is a story. What role will you play?
Stay Positive!
-Jon | www.JonGordon.com
Positive Strategies = Positive Results
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A Positive Moment: Audio Tip
Staying Positive in a Negative Economy | Listen Online Now
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