The Story of my Life

I read this awesome book the other day, by a fellow named Donald Miller. It was a gift from an (equally) awesome friend, and it made her think of me, possibly because I'm awesome too, but more likely because it's all about STORY. I love me a good story, but about halfway through the alternately hilarious and inspirational book, I started thinking about MY story.


What kind of character am I? What's my motivation? Where's my story arc going? How can I make my life into a better story than it currently is? Because, fabulous as I am, my life's story wouldn't sell many copies. I got thinking about the kind of characters that appeal to me. I like a character I can relate to, yes, but I also like a character who makes me want to pump my fist in the air and shout, "Right on! That's the way! That's what I'd like to think I would do in that situation but, deep down, am pretty sure I wouldn't! But I love that you did! That's awesome!"

Generally speaking, we root for the characters who take action. Who don't just RE-act, but ACT. Me, I'm a reactor. I catch up on the laundry when running out of socks forces the issue. Heck, my hair has grown a foot since my last hair cut because I can't be bothered to make the necessary phone calls to get it cut again. Life pretty much has to scoop me up and throw me places, because there's no way I'm doing it myself.

I am a very boring character. I'm the one who makes a cameo appearance in chapter two,or the one who gets killed off in a hmm-that's-sad-but-who-was-that-gal-anyway? kind of way. 

What Donald Miller's book, 

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story, helped me realize is that I can change my story. I can be the daring heroine who braves the odds, faces down the monsters and SAVES THE WORLD (or my little corner of it, anyway). I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with this epiphany yet. I think I'm going to slip it onto the bridge of my nose like a new pair of glasses, and look out at the world through its lenses. I'm pretty sure I'm going to see things differently, and from there I will go on to, you guessed it, AWESOMENESS.

VanderVision Tip of the Day: We are all of us characters in our own stories. That's why fiction appeals to us the way that it does. Because all stories connect, and there's a small part of us that knows that the best stories are the ones that teach us how to live our own story better. 

So ask yourself the question: How can I make my life a better story?