You’ve got something to say, so say it

At the last Be Inspired 2018 conference, Crystal Ackroyd opened the event by reminding us that we all have a story and we just need to have the guts to tell it.

She went on to say we all need to write our story even if we never share it. You might just surprise yourself or learn something new from your own story.

This got me thinking of the power of story telling so in this post, I want to focus on you and your story. Here are my thoughts on this:

You’re in the driver’s seat

Your story is yours to tell and you have the right to tell as much or little of it as you want to. There might be aspects of your story that you want to keep a lid on and rightly so.

Help someone else

Your story can help someone else as they can learn from what you’ve been through. People can either learn from their own experiences or learn from others so when you share your story, you give others a gift of learning from you.

Mistakes can be costly and the smart thing is to avoid costly mistakes when you can, so learning from others makes perfect sense. The bonus is that it doesn’t cost much to tell your story. People relate to and remember personal stories.

Help yourself

Telling your stories can help you as they remind you of things you otherwise would have forgotten. Perhaps you were brave and courageous, maybe you were slow to act or afraid of taking a risk or you missed out on an opportunity. You might have acted immaturely or you did not act at all.

It is so easy to forget the lessons we learn so telling our stories give us an opportunity to refresh on our learnings, inspire us and remind us that we are stronger than we think. It can also show how far we have come and help put current challenges into the right perspectives.

Stories are powerful, emotive, life changing and can make a difference. I love hearing about other people’s stories and love telling mine. You never know what doors can open up and who you will inspire as you tell your story.

I have seen many positive outcomes from telling my story to others. This includes a sense of satisfaction from encouraging others, receiving wonderful compliments, gaining new connections and forming new friendships.

I have also seen tangible outcomes come out of my story telling.

A few years back, a colleague was delivering a course I was on and I got to share a few lessons that I had gleaned from my father when I was growing up. She told me that she always found my stories inspiring and encouraged me to write them down.

A seed was planted in me that day. I held on to that seed and pondered on it for a while. The thought stayed with me and after a couple of years, I decided to make it happen and I wrote the stories.

After completing the manuscript, I told another colleague about the book and found out that her passion was to be an editor and she offered her pro bono service to me.

A few weeks later, I was on my way back home from a work trip and struck up a conversation with a lady sat across from me. I shared my story with her not realising who she was and that’s how I met my publisher on a train.

My book, ‘flying high in a Polka Dot Dress’ came about because I told my story time and time again, not looking for anything but finding everything I needed along the way. I tell my stories to help others but often find that I help myself the most.

What’s your story? Who have you shared it with? Who can you share it with?

There is a colleague in your office who can be encouraged that today’s mistake is not the end of the world, maybe you can mentor a young couple who is just starting their marriage. Someone struggling to pass their exams can learn from how you turned things around.

Your past pains or disappointments can help someone else achieve their breakthrough. You never know when telling your stories can help transform you or someone else so all I can say is be generous with your story telling.

Thank you for stopping by to read my post. Please share this with others and let me know how you get on with telling your story. See you next week.