Even if you’re not a screenwriter, and most of us aren’t, can you imagine you’re writing the script of your life? YOU are writing the script of your life!
Consider that someone’s going to make a movie out of your life, whether you want them to or not. You didn’t give permission and worse, the person(s) didn’t have the courtesy to even ask for your permission. As any celebrity can bemoan, unauthorized biographies abound and they’re usually not pretty. Some real or wannabe gossip columnist started digging and just couldn’t stop throwing the muck up and out of the hole. He even splatted some on your flip-flops.
You can’t control how other people interpret your life. It might end up as half fiction or all lies. But you can control the material they have to work with. You choose the direction the storyline will go. And you’re making that choice every waking minute of the day, and probably, while you’re asleep, too.
Sleep is a beautiful thing, as some folks were discussing recently. Most of us need more of it to cut down on the confrontations and so-called accidents that happen every day. That’s one way we’re writing our own script. Do we cause some of our own problems by not taking proper care of ourselves?
So in what other ways are you writing the script of your life? There may be little choice of where you can live because it’s based upon the work you’re able to find with your qualifications, as well as the economy. But you and I still control how we act instead of react in our circumstances. If you make up your mind ahead of time what you’ll do in certain situations, you don’t have to scramble madly for a decision at the last minute. You become your own writer, producer, director, and leading man or lady of the movie.
Change the Script
If you don’t like the script so far, you can write a better one by making different decisions. You usually start with small, cautious revisions instead of tearing up the script, but it’s your choice. Although retakes are rare, you’re in control of the story. You call the shots.
That isn’t to say we control everything that happens. Life is unpredictable. Sudden illness, wars, crime, unemployment, family spite, or death of a loved one can blindside us. But after it happens, then what? Well, guidelines are available, that is, how-to books for the screenwriter. The basic manual for any chance of happiness is comprised of the scriptures of your faith. If you have no religion, there are books written by talented, inspired men and women able to reach a variety of people where they are now: Bertice Berry, Brené Brown, Wayne W. Dyer, Louise Hay, Joel Osteen, M. Scott Peck, Charles C. Stanley, Rick Warren, and many others.
What kind of script are you writing? Is your life a comedy, a drama, something out of a horror movie, a motivational success story? Are you going to slam someone’s children because of their parents? Do you love your fellow travelers enough to pay it forward?
The Law of Attraction
It’s always good to imagine a happy future or one filled with adventure and/or romance. It gives you something to look forward to and work toward. The Law of Attraction is more real for some people than it is for others. The theory is that whatever you desire and focus upon, that is what will come into your life. In reality, life is a little more complicated than that. You can’t just focus on a new car and dream it into existence. You have to think about it and work on finding a variety of possible ways to get one. Yes, Father in Heaven knows what you need but you still have to do your part first. You have to start writing the next page of your Life Story.
Personally, I’ve been advised to avoid negative people because they drag me down and that brings more negativity into my life. Maybe you’re in a similar situation. Frankly, though, pollyannas wear me out. I don’t have the energy to deal with people who are always smiling and happy (or conversely, driven nervous wrecks), who hit the ground running at 6 a.m. Would you chill out, for the sake of the rest of us? We see your best side at church and we often see your best side or your most annoying side at the office.
Some of us have figured out that anyone who’s super cheerful before 8 a.m. on Monday morning probably has a wrong idea of what’s likely to happen that day. But I guess they’re enjoying the ride, or maybe Monday is the best thing they have to look forward to. Truth is stranger than fiction and can make for some fascinating scripts.
Just remember you are writing the script of your life and you control the storyline.