Choose better stories

Flipping through my notebook at work, I landed on a page with the words,"Choose better stories." It was a heading I jotted down during a discussion where our team seemed stuck on the negatives of a proposal. Words like "never", "always", and "can't" flew through the air like missiles destroying whatever seeds hope had been planted.  I watched as energy, passion and innovation were repeatedly crushed by harmful and careless words launched like unguided missiles, hitting the intended and the collateral in mass.

In the meeting, as I listened to the words being thrown about and the devastation it was creating I stopped and reflected deeply.  At that moment I realized my life was a lot like that meeting. Somehow, the meeting attendees were allowing fear, doubt and despair to drown out hope, innovation and creativity.  Likewise, in my own life I was allowing fear, doubt, regret and past mistakes the freedom to rain down and drown out my hope. I began to reflect on blogs never posted, ideas never spoken, devotionals never written, and this growing fear of going back to the place of my last epic failure.  The heading I captured was from a blog I read entitled, "Choose better stories.".

My key take away from the blog, the meeting and my life is this:  I don't have to let the past hurt, hamper or dictate the future. Nor do I have to let negative words dominate my landscape and overtake my vocabulary. I too can choose better stories. I can choose to reflect but not regret. To learn from mistakes and see obstacles as opportunities and challenges waiting to be solved. I can let my heart take courage in God and let my thought think the best will arise from my circumstances.  I can take the words of David to my heart, "When I'm afraid I put my trust in you (Psalm 56:3)," and I can keep Paul's words near my heart "All things work together for the good for those who love God."

I can choose better stories about myself and when I start choosing better stories, better words, brighter thoughts and emotions about myself - then I will have the capacity to think better stories about the world around me.

So, today, I will choose better thoughts.