How do you describe your life? Or the painful events in your life?
Did you see what I just did there with that adjective?
I made the story heavy with that word painful.
And I know many of us are feeling the painful story of our life and of our past.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Words are powerful.
What are you doing with your words?
Are you infusing your life with empowerment by your words or defeating yourself and keeping yourself stuck in your own story?
I’m a writer. I love words.
I especially love the perfect descriptive word that can be used to immerse my reader into my experience through the use of one single word.
But just as the perfect adjective draws a reader into my story and connects them to me, that incredible adjective can also keep you stuck and tied to a story that no longer serves you.
How often have you shared an experience with someone where you had been hurt months, maybe years, prior and felt compelled to add more and more adjectives to your storytelling as time went on because the ones you’d been using somehow felt numb to you now?
Those old adjectives just don’t seem do your pain justice.
What if you didn’t need justice but could welcome in growth instead?
Words matter.
Adjectives keep us more deeply connected to a story.
For better or for worse.
Which adjectives will you use today?
Timber Hawkeye from Buddhist Boot Camp said it best in his post this week:——–
October 7th
I spoke with a guy the other day who said, “I went through a messy, long, ugly divorce 20 years ago that was dramatic, traumatic, brutal, painful, soul-wrenching…” and I said, “Dude.. Stop! Can you tell me that story without using any adjectives?” He smiled and said, “I went through a divorce 20 years ago.” We both chuckled as I looked at his shoulders relax and I asked, “Now, doesn’t that feel lighter?” He laughed and said, “OMG.. I’ve been telling that story for 20 years, and I think I add another adjective every time I talk about it.” We all carry all this extra, unnecessary weight instead of letting it go! It makes it significantly more difficult for us to move forward. So, drop those heavy adjectives or, better yet, replace them with alternatives that fuel your journey rather than keep you rooted in the past. Imagine if he said, “I went through an eye-opening divorce 20 years ago that taught me so much about myself, communication, intimacy, and connection. I’m so grateful!” How does that narrative feel?
——–
Together in today’s meditation, Want to feel happier? Lose the adjectives, we will locate your story, cleanse your story of its adjectives and then empower you with your own growth.
This will be a powerful way for you to reposition your pain and to begin to empower yourself with adjectives that bring in the life of your dreams.
Much love,
Erin