He talked about the overweight person who says he's overweight because he has big bones. And that's why it's hard for him to lose weight.
He mentioned an addict who says he's an addict because his parents were addicts. Plus he lived in the wrong neighborhood.
I listened for a while then started thinking about my own story - the one that used to keep me getting high. My father was an alcoholic, drunk on his ass most of the time. I was abused as a child. I didn't have any stability in my life. My parents divorced when I was four and shared custody - until my father kidnapped me and my younger brother when I was about five.
The story goes on - but you get the idea.
When I began getting in trouble as a teenager I would drag this story out for social workers and teachers who couldn't understand why I was so self-destructive. I got a lot of breaks because people felt as sorry for me as I did for myself.
But eventually people got tired of my story and sent me to jails and other places.
In my early fifties I woke up one day and decided to change my story. I imagined myself as sober and successful. And that new story is what I became.
What's your story? If you don’t like it, write a new one.
