What’s your favorite lie?
What’s the thing you repeatedly tell yourself about why you don’t exercise, haven’t had that difficult conversation, made the change, or achieved the goal you set for yourself long ago?
What’s the story that keeps your happiness just out of reach?
Currently, my favorite lie is: “I’m not ready…” Not ready to make the right decision, take the next step
in my business, or to send that poem out for publication because it needs to be better–perfect. Or I need to write more, read more, learn more, know more, be more before I can show up and put myself out there.
No matter how true it seems, our inner voice doesn’t get it completely right. If you aren’t aware of it, your favorite lie can hijack your life and leave you stuck in a false, stagnant reality.
Writing can shine the light of truth on your favorite lie and bring it out of the shadows.
New scientific research on the benefits of expressive writing suggests that by writing, and then rewriting or editing our own stories, we can change our perceptions of ourselves. We can also identify clearly the obstacles that stand in the way of more happiness, better health, improved relationships, more fulfilling careers, and the lives we truly want.
Transformational writing is far more than keeping a journal or writing articles or books. It is a powerful practice that can free you from stuck energies, old ideas, feelings, beliefs, and stagnant visions of what’s possible for you.
Transformational writing allows you to:
1. Create an inner refuge of safety to tell the full truth
No matter what is happening in your life, something is always true. Truth is allowing what IS to come into the room.
When you write with the intention to reveal what is true for you today, in the moment, you make room for everything.You allow your desire and your struggle, your light and your shadow. Together they create a wholeness that brings bittersweet relief.
You get to see that perhaps your favorite lie of “not being ready” is how you protect yourself from the belief that you aren’t good enough. Then you have something real and honest to work with.
2. Navigate the voices of self-criticism with more kindness
Once you’ve accessed the truth behind the lie, you no longer identify with it. It no longer holds the same power. A softness occurs. Some understanding. A space for kindness is created. You can walk toward yourself or any situation with more humbleness, openness and vulnerability.
You start to see that the inner critic, who so beautifully spins those favorite lies, is actually there to protect you from the hurt you’ve already experienced in your life. It tells you those lies because that’s what your life’s story told you was true in order for you to survive.
When I was nine, my chronically ill mother told me she was going to die by Christmas. That year I became the relationship between my living and my mother’s dying. I started to believe that if I were good enough, I might be enough to keep her alive.
3. Let go of old, limiting stories and rewrite new, empowered ones
When you use writing to tell the truth, and to dig a little deeper to reveal the painful beliefs and feelings that come from your life’s story, you create an opportunity for change.
You realize that you are your story and you are not your story at the same time. New meaning is found within your struggle. Freedom of choice becomes possible.
My favorite lie of not being ready still shows up regularly, but now that I know what lives behind it, I have a new truth to tame it. I know
that there is nothing good enough in this world to escape the reality of death. That’s why showing up, as I am, in the moment is so important. I quiet the lie with this truth:
“I am here, I am alive, and I am perfect in my imperfection!”
When you tell the truth, your story changes, and you are transformed.
Don’t wait, it starts in just one week!
Don’t just take my word for it. Science is now proving what many writers have known for a long time—the power of writing—
and then rewriting—your story “can lead to behavioral change and improve happiness.”
Create the life you want and deserve now! The only thing in your way is your favorite lie and how much you believe it!