The other day I was stuck in a reoccurring pattern. It wasn’t my favorite.

So I spent some time in my “underworld” to discover what belief was active and how it was playing out. I looked to see where it began, how it appeared over the years, and how it served me. I saw the protective intent in its formation and the limiting hold it had over me at present.

By the time I was done looking, I felt kind of muddy and tired.

Like I had grappled with a sea monster who lived hidden beneath the waters. Before I moved on, I identified a belief that would better serve my life. I planted that firmly in my mind and looked to see where it was already true. When that sneaky monster of a bad idea next swam to the surface, I turned away, no longer willing to reinforce its hold on my reality.

This practice of exploring murky spaces within isn’t a lot of fun. 

It can be sobering, disheartening, and, at times, downright frightening. Yet, you can’t expect to enter a new year and create new dreams if you’re living an old, disempowering script.

Know this, you’re a magnificent story teller.

Since you’ve been young, you’ve been creating stories about yourself, how the world works, and what is possible. The plot lines were borrowed or absorbed from the larger story tellers in your life. Parents, teachers, friends, and societal instructors. All ideas tunneling into your little mind to plant those belief seeds, many of which are holding you back today.

All humans borrow stories from one another.

Often installed at a young age, they vary according to the unique path of human experience. The helpful stories invite self-acceptance, wellbeing and life satisfaction. The disempowering stories disrupt a sense of worth, innate goodness, and potential for growth. When those scary tales whisper that you can’t be happy, healthy, wealthy, creative, and meaningfully connected to others, they point you toward a path of suffering.

All because you think the story is true.