overit-withit-1

WITH CHRISTINE HASSLER

Glory Days

Last week I was home in Dallas celebrating my mom’s birthday and had a wonderful opportunity to let go of some old stories. Thanks to Facebook, I reconnected with a high school classmate and met him out for dinner to catch up on the past 16 years. While we were talking, I was sharing about how challenging high school was for me because I had been teased so much in middle school and carried those hurts and insecurities with me. I was a self-proclaimed nerd and invested 100% of myself into being a A+ student as being smart became my identity (even though what I really wanted was to be popular and have friends). It was so fascinating to share this with my friend and then hear the way he saw me. He actually did like me and admitted that even though a lot of my peers noticed I was a bit “uptight,” he thought I was an interesting person he always wanted to get to know better. I was just so focused on protecting myself that I could not see how others saw me.

But isn’t that usually the case? Something happens in life and we form a story about ourselves based upon it. We carry around an old story of who we think we are that becomes our identity and, thus, the lens we look through. And even though it is not be true, we continue to retell it to ourselves and engage in self-talk, choices and behaviors that reinforce the story we’ve become attached to. And then we continue to attract experiences that fit into the story because that is what we are telling ourselves! Perhaps it’s time to drop the story and see the TRUTH.

I had a very unique way in which I was able to drop my high school story. You see my friend just happens to be a teacher at our old high school and had keys to the building. So after dinner, I was able to go back to my old stopping grounds in Plano, TX and revisit the halls and classrooms that held my old story and let it go. It was so liberating to walk the halls and reminisce in a way that was no longer tainted with negative self-judgments. I experienced such compassion for myself and the way I kept myself separate in the past. And I was able to see all the lessons from my high school as necessary curriculum for my LIFE school.

Today I encourage you to UPdate any stories that you are holding onto from your past that do not serve you anymore. Middle school and high school are good places to look as we all experience some defining moments during these times that impact our self-perception. What stories are you still telling yourself that do not serve you? What are you holding onto that is weighing you down? How can you have compassion for what you went through yesterday, but no longer use it to define who you are TODAY.

I also invite you to take a little stroll down memory lane. Perhaps it’s driving by your old high school, going through old yearbooks, or reconnecting with an old friend that connects you back to your glory days. Celebrate your past, honor the memories, let go of self-limiting stories and allow yourself to feel glorious about who you are today.

Fondly,
Christine

“We cannot change the past, but we can change our attitude toward it. Uproot guilt and plant forgiveness. Tear out arrogance and seed humility. Exchange love for hate — thereby, making the present comfortable and the future promising.”
– Maya Angelou

“There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life.”
– Anon

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