The Missional Agent Memo #28 - This is holding you back…

The stories we tell ourselves matter. In this episode, Chris explores how the narratives we attach to our circumstances can either strip away our agency or restore it. Learn how a different interpretation may be the key to moving forward. Visit jchrisbryant.com to connect.

Transcript

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Issue number 28 of the Missional Agent Memo. This is holding you back. I grew up in a jacked-up home. Alcohol, abuse, and anger filled the walls of my childhood. As an adult, I remember thinking my past would always limit the possibilities of my future. I never said it out loud, but internally a message kept lurking beneath the surface. Because of what you've done and what's been done to you, your damaged goods, you'll never be enough. I lived with that narrative for so many years. But what if that narrative wasn't a fact? What if my circumstances weren't what was limiting me, but my interpretation of them? Here's what I mean. The interpretation I was telling myself was you grew up in a hard home. You were hurt. You were broken. That means you can only go so far. Your wounds will hold you back and haunt you forever. But the interpretation I've learned to tell myself, you grew up in a hard home. You were hurt. You were broken, but you made it through. Your wounds are proof of what you're capable of. Same story, two different endings. One takes away my power, the other gives it back. It's not a matter of which one is right, it's a matter of which one I choose. I get to choose a narrative that strips my agency or one that restores it. And so do you. I coach people through this exact choice week after week because it's a choice we always have to make. Maybe your circumstance has to do with your past, maybe it's the market, maybe it's your marriage. But what if it's not the circumstance holding you back, but the story you've decided to tell about it? Whatever circumstances you're facing, ask yourself what's an alternative interpretation that sets you free and gives you back your power? If I can help, I'm in your corner. Chris.