Why our stories are so important

Have you ever heard it said to someone, or perhaps had it said to you, that you should write a book...? Some people's lives seem to have been so rich with extraordinary events and experiences that they should be written down and immortalised to entertain or educate the rest of the world.

In fact, we all have extraordinary stories, and we can all learn from each other. Richard Wilkins from the Ministry of Inspiration, says that we are all superheroes masquerading as ordinary people. I love that! And it's true. I have the incredible privilege of hearing people's stories in my coaching practice, and also on "Whatever Next...?" days which I co-facilitate with my colleague, Jeremy Clare. Everyone's story is so interesting and so amazing, and so unique and diverse. What is also fascinating to observe is that there are common threads running through these stories, which could broadly be called 'the human experience'. Not so much threads of events, but threads of emotion. We are all students of the same school of life, each attending our own individual lessons. The learning is the same, but how we each came to that learning will be different every time. And sometimes we have to repeat the lesson over and over before the teaching sets in! Sound familiar...?!

Our stories are our foundation, how we became who we are today and how we will become who we have yet to be. They form us, and can in turn INform us. If you follow your own story, you will discover where you learnt to respond to certain situations, good or bad, and also how to adjust that learning, looking at a particular experience with new eyes - perhaps with the help of someone else's eyes. You will also be reminded of times in your life when you enjoyed a certain activity or hobby, but as your life moved on, these things were forgotten. These memories, chapters in our story, can be the key to returning to Self, and often trigger new ideas and opportunities when re-evaluating your life after a significant life change.

When you hear someone else's story, you might find yourself thinking, I know how that feels! This is one of the ways we connect as human beings, and how we learn to understand each other. This is one of the reasons I decided to include group workshops in my new coaching programme, The Whole Works, because in conjunction with 1-1 coaching, group workshops provide that extra and very different stimulus to reflect and learn.

I decided to write my own story in 2 parts, which can be read on my website. It was a hugely cathartic thing to do and helped me to see where I had learnt certain things along the way. Whether it takes you 5 minutes or 5 hours to write your story, I'd highly recommend it.