Take a moment to look at your life. What do you see? What story are you telling yourself? Are you thinking the same thoughts as yesterday? If you are, you’re more than likely to make the same choices today. Those same choices made today are leading to the same behavioral outcomes tomorrow. Practicing the same behaviors tomorrow will produce the same experiences, leading to the same outcomes in your future. As a result, you’ve become stuck in a perpetual cycle. And, depending on the story, it can be good or bad. Your yesterday seamlessly becomes your tomorrow. This is why the stories we tell ourselves are important.

The moment you’re able to imagine a new future for yourself, think about a new possibility, and start to create different outcomes to specific questions — such as, what will it be like to like without this pain? — your mindset starts to shift. You realize normal can be different than what it has been — less pain, less stress, less weight. To get there, you first need to be aware of where you are currently and where that trajectory is taking you (this is your current story). Once you have a grasp on your current narrative, you can better create an intention to change that story toward one of health, vibrance, strength, and longevity. Providing a sense of clarity on what you want versus what you no longer wish to experience, is a bit like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, once you know there are multiple outcomes available, you can freely change the story.

Once you understand that it’s possible to create an alternative future story — living without pain, extra weight, or risk of disease — you are no longer living in your past story. The awareness that comes with the ability to know that you can live a life you desire carries an emotional impact that is truly compelling. Excitement, hope, and an anticipation of an improved version of yourself will always outweigh any advice driven by the distraction of mere facts (your calories are too high, your cholesterol is too high, etc.) on your story. Your new story is set in motion through awareness and solidified by the emotional connection you create with the new story. 

The crazy thing is that the mind doesn’t know the difference between a perceived reality and one you are actually living, therefore the intention of creating a new story captures the essence of the person you wish to become, and at the same time sets the transition into motion. When we’re presented with a new story of better health, and associate that thought with emotional anticipation of the desirable experience, we’re becoming susceptible to the end result. We’re conditioning, expecting, and assigning meaning to the delivery system — which in this case is the new story we intend to tell ourselves.