Last month, I blogged about how to start your year off right with nutrition and exercise. To make such changes for the better, your motivation has to align with your direction. And one of the best ways to find your motivation and change the way you take care of yourself is to look for it inside of two stories about the future, one irresistible, the other repulsive. A future that beckons is like a tractor beam that pulls you forward, while a future that frightens you serves as a repulser ray that pushes you away. Working together, your hopes and fears can move you to make dramatic changes.
“Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe.” -H.G. Wells
The problem is that if you wait for these things to become clear, they may take too long. At that point, you may find the repulsive future looming on your horizon, and the irresistible one fading from the realm of possibility. The good news is that you don’t have to wait until it’s too late!
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Here’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I love narrative psychology, and teach it to my clients and students as a powerful change tool. This burgeoning field of study is based on the idea that the stories we tell about ourselves and each other shape our identity, determine how well we access our resources, and contribute (or take away from) our ability to create positive change.
When people need something to blame, it’s usually pretty easy to find something. Whether it’s “he” that made them do it, or “she” that made them do it, or “the devil” that made them do it, the cause-effect explanation lays the blame for results on an outside agent. People that place the blame claim to be victims of circumstance rather than authors and creators of their own experience. And in a way, it’s true. If the cause of a problem is considered a result of circumstance rather than choice, those dealing with the problem may rightly feel and act powerless.
