What's YOUR Story?

Everyone has a past. We all live in the present. And many of us dream about the future. One thing ties us all together. We all have a story. A story about where we have come from, where we are now, and where we are headed.

** Picture taken at San Diego Zoo - wild at heart ** 

Some find comfort in their story while others never put any thought into it. I love when others open up to me about who they are, times they've been hurt, how they've prevailed, when they've struggled and when they've succeeded. I'm not interested in people's stories because I'm noisy, I'm interested because its a way for me to connect with them. Could I form a strong connection with this person based on our experiences? What drives them? What are their fears? What holds them back from going after everything they want in life? What is their STORY? What can I learn from them? And can I add value to their life? These are questions that steer my interactions with people I meet and those that I already know. Let me be clear, I'm not looking to save the world. I'm looking to connect with others beyond surface level conversation. I want to know what makes someone who they are, what makes them tick and what pushes them to tock.

I call these types of interactions heart-to-hearts. They come from a place of vulnerability. It's honesty at its finest. Since I can remember I have always valued having heart-to-heart conversations with others. In my About Me section of MySpace (and I'm dating back), I added things I love and heart-to-hearts was part of it. I guess I never realized WHY until now. It is a way for me to connect with someone on a completely different level than every day to day interactions. It is an open window of opportunity to learn about someone. Maybe its simply talking about a passion of theirs. Or a time that was relatable to a time in my life. Whatever it is, it was powerful to me then and even more so now. I crave these types of conversations. But as I grow older, I find people are more shut off from telling their story.

What I've learned is that people are afraid to share their story. There is a wall built during some point of our lives called "it's nobody's business what I've been through." This wall is a form of protection. It protects us from judgment of others, shields us from embarrassment of things we did that we may not necessarily be proud of, and keeps us in a zone of comfort knowing that we don't need to talk about where we've "been" if we don't want to.

At one time I felt this way until I dug a bit deeper into my history. I acknowledge now that I am who I am because of all my life's experiences. I may be a different person if I never experienced the things in my past. I may not know the strength within me if I didn't experience hurt. I would absolutely not understand true, genuine love if I didn't experience dysfunction. I wouldn't know what unconditional love meant if I never encountered conditional love. I may never have understood the power of family if I never challenged their guidance. What I'm trying to get at is that everyone should own their story, realize it has brought them to the place they currently stand. Some will be proud while others not so much. It's a way to take your own inventory to determine is this a path that I want to be on? If it is then stand tall and proud of who you are and where you're headed. If it's not, then it's time to re-evaluate what you want out of life and how you can make changes. Change is not easy but at times is necessary.

So I end this blog asking you, what's YOUR story? I will be posting a separate blog about MY story to share with the world. If I can connect with/inspire/motivate just one other person than sharing was more than worth it to me. I'm proud of who I am today and wouldn't be here without where I've come from.

Thanks for reading and until next time hold your story close and be proud to share it because you just may impact someone else's life in a way you never imagined. We all have a story. xoxo