Story Time

A hard-working client of mine, actually, the same lovely young woman who sent the story about the mermaid and the whale, sent our recovery group a beautiful collage of inspirational quotes and pictures with the intention of “getting out of my negative head space, and ending my ‘I will never stop binge/purging' story.”

I love her fire and determination to create a life for herself free from her eating disorder, and I hate to deflate that effort with a “but,” but here it is...

I can fully understand why anyone would want to stop negative thoughts and feelings from filling their mind, BUT the truth is we are unable to control which neurons decide to fire in our brains at any given moment. Of course we can practice turning our attention to specific activities and presences in our world, but our minds are easily triggered by stimuli that we can’t, no matter how much we want to or try, to eliminate.

The key to successful living, then, is recognizing when the various stories we tell ourselves are getting air time on the radio of our minds, and choosing whether or not they are helpful to us and worth listening to at any given moment.

What are the stories that appear in your mind? Do you pay heed to the “It’s all or nothing” story? How about the “I’m a fat pig” story? What about the “I can’t do it – it’s too hard” story? These stories may have been floating around in your consciousness for a very long time, but that doesn’t mean they are any truer than the Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy stories you used to tell yourself.

What story would you like to tell yourself about yourself today?

With Love,

Ellen

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