Write your own story
Sometimes an animated film is a more effective teacher than all the professors and all the kings (wo)men.
The 2015 Pixar movie Inside Out is an outstanding and digestible description of how our most memorable moments are the seeds from which the stories we live within emerge.
Watch a clip from the movie to see how the main character, Riley, has her core memories transformed into Islands of Personality. Memories, called islands in the animated film, are the building blocks of Riley’s fundamental personality traits. Early on, Riley's islands are Family, Honesty, Friendship, Goofball, and Hockey.
But, beware! These islands don''t last as Riley grows. Just like Riley, we tend to think that the stories (i.e. islands) that we live on are permanent. But as we see in the movie, the islands - aka stories - we live in are only as permanent as the memories - aka beliefs - from which they emerge. When our memories - our beliefs - are challenged by new experiences, our islands begin to crumble and new islands begin to form.
The take-away from this message is positive. If you are stuck on an island that isn’t nourishing your Spirit, know that your islands are ephemeral and constantly being regenerated. You can alter the ongoing regeneration process by changing your beliefs.
On the other hand, if you are enjoying living on an island that is nourishing your Spirit, DON’T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED!!! You’ve got to regenerate those underlying beliefs to enable your island to live and grow.
Just remember. Our memories and beliefs serve as the seeds from which our realities emerge. MIND YOUR BELIEFS!!!!
