Aim some creativity at reframing your own experience

March 25, 2017 12:59 PM

Frankl famously said that to
live is to suffer, but to survive is to find meaning in the suffering.

The key
word, of course, is find. Which suggests a significant amount of
intellectual and existential work. Searching for aspects of our circumstances
that we can view as gifts to be treasured. Forgiving reality for being what it
is, but then cognitively reframing the story we tell ourselves about what that
reality means.

That’s one of the reasons daily journaling is a deeply
therapeutic practice. Because it forces you to explain your own life to
yourself. It challenges you to acknowledge the meaning of experiences. And not
for any outside reader, but for the clarity of your own understanding.

What’s
more, if you’re daring enough to revisit those daily entries weeks or months or
even years later, rereading them chronological order gives you a chance to
study your own mind.

Nobody can deny the meaningfulness of that journey, nor
can they take it away from you. No matter how horrible the suffering felt along
the way.

I’m reminded of a comic book artist friend of mine, who once said that
writing down the difficult moments of your history lets you own it. The events
then belong to you rather than you belonging to them.

Remember, creativity is
the most important human resource we have. Don’t blow it all at work.
Pay yourself first. Aim some creativity at reframing your own experience.

Use
situations as catalysts to grow and evolve, not to beat yourself up.

That way,
you’re not suffering, you’re surviving.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Which misfortune in one area of your life is waiting to enrich the rest of it?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com