Are the stories you are telling yourself keeping you in the present, inspiring you and moving you toward your dreams or taking you in the opposite direction?
When I think about staying in the present, I am reminded of the ancient fable that you might have heard and is worth hearing again.
There once was an old man who had a beautiful white horse. It was so beautiful that the people of the village told him that he should sell it to the King and make lots of money. The old man replied, “I can’t sell a friend.”
One day he went to the stable to feed his horse and it was gone. The village people said “Silly old man, you could have made lots of money, and now you have nothing.” The old man said, “All I know is that my horse is gone.”
About a week later, the old man’s horse returned home with nine wild horses behind it. The old man opened his corral gate and let them all in.
“What a lucky old man,” the village people exclaimed. “Now he can make ten times the money by selling those horses.” The old man just
said, ”All I know is that my horse is back.”
The old man’s son was taming one of the wild horses, and fell and broke both his legs. “Poor old man,” said the village people. “You better
get rid of those dangerous horses.” The old man just said “All I know is that my son’s legs need to heal. That is all I know.”
About a week later some soldiers came into town to gather all the young boys and take them off to war. When they saw the old man’s son, they left him behind saying he was of no use with two broken legs. “Lucky old man,” said the village people. “They
took our sons, and you get to keep yours.”
“All I know,” said the old man, “is that I’ve got my son and I’ve got my horse. That is all I know.”
What stories do you tell yourself? Are they based on fact or a story you are making up. When you say what your passion or dream/goal is do you follow it with a story about why you expect it to happen or why it won’t.
When you get ready to call someone for business or a date, what story are you telling yourself. Are you imagining that they want to hear from you and hear what you have to say, or are you making up a story about why they won’t want to hear from you? When someone doesn’t call you back, what story do you tell yourself then? What if you just said “All I know is they didn’t call me back.” Would that have a different effect on you and
how you feel?
Catch yourself before you tell a story that will make you feel bad and change it to one that will make you feel good. It helps to say, “All I know is……(and state the facts) Let me know what happens. I look forward to hearing from you.